Fallout 3: Wastelanders Tale
by MistressNixOfFerelden
Summary: Evelyn lived quietly in Megaton, barely turning 19 until a Vault Boy stumbles into Megaton looking for his dad. Little does she know that he will change her life and the Capital Wasteland forever.
1. Chapter 1

Evelyn leaned against the side of the "Brass Lantern". The young woman watched as dozens of people passed by, once in a while one would stop for food. This time it was someone she knew. Unfortunately, it was Jericho. He wasn't drunk. Thank whatever God seemed to be listening. He was talking about how some kid crawled out of the vault that wasn't even ten minutes from here.

"What's his name?" Evelyn asked, mildly curious. Jericho looked up from his squirrel stew to look Evelyn in the eyes.

"Jake 'r somethin'. Lookin' for his dad. He was up at Moriarty's askin' around." Jericho was talking with his mouth full, as if he hadn't eaten in a few days.

"He still up there?" Jericho nodded and put another spoonful in his mouth. Evelyn looked at Jenny Stahl, green eyes pleading. Jenny rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Go, go. I know the curiosity will kill you." A smile spread over Evelyn's face and she hugged Jenny tightly. Evelyn set off, heading up the makeshift stairs. She eagerly evaded Megaton Settlers. She bumped into a man with a pink baseball cap.

"Sorry!" Evelyn called, looking behind her. The man scowled and brushed off his jacket. Lady Luck wasn't with her, as soon as Evelyn turned her head she bumped into another man.

"Sorry, sorry." He muttered, offering his hand. Evelyn stared curiously up at him. He had shaggy black hair and blue eyes. And he had on a Vault suit. Aha. That's why he had manners. He had a 10mm pistol holstered on his hip and a BB gun strapped to his back.

Evelyn took his hand, and he helped her up. She brushed the seat of her pants off.

"I'm Jake." He said, confidence filling his voice.

"Evelyn. How long are you staying?"

"I'm leaving right now actually; I'm going to deal with a problem for Moriarty in Springvale."

"Do you need any help?" She asked with a smile.

"Well… I guess so. You have a gun right?" Evelyn resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Of course. Meet me at the gate. Okay?"

Jake nodded and headed down the stairs. Evelyn headed to her house and unlocked the door. She opened a cabinet and pulled out her leather armor. She pulled off her white T-shirt and pants. She wiggled into the leather armor that had been sitting in the cabinet ever since she could remember.

Evelyn opened a drawer of the desk sitting against a wall. She put the shotgun shells in a pocket on her leather top. Evelyn strapped the combat shotgun to her back. She headed out of the house, locking the door behind her. Last thing she needed was some Wastelander breaking in and taking everything she worked for. Which wasn't much.

Evelyn hurried to the gate and saw the Vault Boy waiting for her. He was chatting up Lucas Simms. She made out the word 'bomb' and instantly recognition snapped into place. Why did he want to know about the atomic bomb that sat in the middle of town?

Jake had a winning smile on his face, and making small motions with his hands. Evelyn saw him looking past Simms to her and he slightly nodded his head in acknowledgement. Jake finished up the conversation with the Sheriff of Megaton and turned to the gate. Evelyn walked beside him out of Megaton.

"So, you're from the Vault," She started. Jake didn't say anything. "What was it like?"

Jake considered it for a second.

"It was like living in a steel box. There was a leader, an Overseer. He treated us all like shit and yet we were still expected to kiss the ground he walked on. He even treated his own daughter like shit."

Evelyn didn't know what to say. What was there to say?

A Mole Rat made its way to Jake. It stood on its pink hind legs and sniffed the air. Evelyn stared at it curiously. She had never seen a Mole rat act with no hostility towards a human. Except for her older sister who lived in New Vegas. She was dating a NCR sniper; or so her letters had told. Carla kept bugging her to come visit her in New Vegas. Evelyn was happy for her older sister and still wished every night for her well-being.

"So what's Moriarty's problem in Springvale?" Evelyn asked, walking past the Mole Rat. Jake got up from his kneeling position and hurried to Evelyn's side.

"Moriarty says there's a junkie in Springvale that owes him some caps. We're going to get those caps. And then Moriarty will have to tell me where my Dad went."

"But Jake.. What if he's just bull-shitting you?" Evelyn asked softly, not able to look the ex Vault-Dweller in the eyes. So instead she fixated her attention on a Springvale house.

"It's a chance I have to take. Otherwise I'm never gonna find my Dad."

Jake was quiet after that. Evelyn didn't feel like talking much either. Jake led her to a house and knocked on the door. When he didn't get any response, Jake opened the door. He stepped in first and Evelyn followed closely behind him. The lights were dim. The house was musty, but that didn't surprise Evelyn as much as it did Jake. Evelyn figured that the unkempt pre-war houses were bound to have disgusting smells.

"Did Moriarty send you! I don't have his fucking caps!" Silver yelled eyes bloodshot from her last high. "You're that little bitch that works for the Stahl's. Always poking your nose where it doesn't belong."

"Miss, me and my friend here don't want any trouble. If you give us the three hundred caps, we'll tell Moriarty you're long gone." Jake reasoned, putting his hands out in a peace gesture.

The blonde woman considered this. She reached into a drawer to her right and pulled out a pouch of caps. Jake held out his hand expectantly.

"You'll tell Moriarty I'm gone, no tricks right?" She asked.

Jake shook his head. "No tricks."

"Fine." Silver dropped the bag of caps in Jake's hand and he put the caps away into a backpack on his back. "Now get the fuck outta here."

Evelyn and Jake were happy to oblige. The pair walked back to Megaton, not one word exchanged between the two of them. They walked to Moriarty's, avoiding all of the bustling people.

"I'm going to stay outside.. Moriarty isn't too fond of me. Working for the Stahl's and all."

Jake nodded and headed inside. Evelyn waited for about five minutes before Jake came bursting out of the door.

"My Dad went to see Three Dog at GNR."

"Would you uh mind me coming with you? I mean, I've never really been that far outside of Megaton. And I could help you too! I'm really good with repairing stuff." Evelyn pleaded; green eyes wide.

"Well, sure. I could use all the help I can get."

LWLWLWLW

A/N: I don't own Fallout 3. I don't own anything except for Evelyn and Jake. I plan on continuing this, out of sheer curiosity of where I can take this.

These wasn't sent to a beta or anything of that sort, so if you see something that you think isn't correct, message me or leave a review.

This is my first posted Fallout story so constructive criticism is very welcome. Review!


	2. Fucking Mercs

A/N: I'm sorry if I screw up any of the directions or anything. I'm going off of memory and the Fallout Wiki. I don't have my copy of F3 with me right now.

Evelyn knew she was playing with fire when she asked Jake to tag along. She fucking knew it. A voice in the back of her head screamed that she was going to end up on some Super Mutant's dinner plate.

She honestly didn't care. She opened the drawer with Carla's letters in them. All fifteen of them ranging from when Carla had left for New Vegas a couple of years back to the present day. Maybe it had been longer than a couple of years; Evelyn couldn't remember. All she could remember was that she missed Carla dearly. Carla was always an enigma; she was always a people person even when she lived in the small town deemed Megaton.

Evelyn exhaled and placed the letters carefully in her bag. She placed a couple of doses of Med-X, and many Stimpacks as Doc Church and Gob would sell her, in the bag. She didn't mind Gob so much, even though she could never get used to the rotting flesh or the smell. Last was food and ammo. Mostly combat shells and 10mm rounds, and a couple of assault rifle magazines. Evelyn strapped her own 10mm pistol to her waist and faithful combat shotgun to her back.

Billy Creel had taught her how to shoot about a year after he came to Megaton. She could still remember how little Maggie was, barely a toddler.

At first she had only used a 10mm pistol. And a little while after Billy was confident she could shoot something more powerful, he taught her how to deal with the kickback of the scoped 44 magnum. After that little "lesson" Evelyn swore she'd never pick up one of those again.

Evelyn shut off the light, and left the house. She locked the door behind her. Evelyn stared fondly at the small house. She didn't know how long it would be until she got back. If she ever did make it back.

The sun shone down on Megaton, making Evelyn squint her green eyes. She saw Jake pacing at the gate. Had he even slept the night before?

"You look like you're coming down from a Jet high." Evelyn mused, smiling. Jake didn't smile. As Evelyn came closer to Jake, she noticed his blue eyes which were glazed over. She also took notice of the Armored Vault suit he had on. "Oh my God, where the hell did you get Jet from? No one around here would be caught selling that shit."

"It's not a big deal. It's not like I'm gonna get hooked on the stuff." Jake muttered, walking to the gate and waiting for it whir up. Evelyn scoffed. Those were the true words of a person walking down the path to become a junkie.

"I hope you got some Fixer for when you crash. That little computer on your wrist shows us where we're going, right?" Evelyn inquired. She took the sunglasses she had in a pocket on her leather armor and put them on.

"Yeah. We're going that way." Jake pointed to the Washington Monument.

"You realize that's Super Mutant territory right?"

"We can take the Metros. Jericho said the worst thing down there were Feral Ghouls." Jake said, already starting his walk northeast. Evelyn didn't argue, just followed Jake. They got to the Super Duper Mart, only to be met by three Talon Company Mercenaries.

"So you're the asshole who thinks he's the Wasteland Savior. We've got a bounty on your head." The first Merc said. He had a buzz cut and pale skin. He also had a laser pistol which Evelyn had her eye on.

"Can't we just talk about this? Killing me won't do anyone any good." Jake tried to reason.

"No. Better start praying." The first Merc quickly got the first shot. Evelyn quickly took the Combat Shotgun off of her back and filled the lead Talon Company Merc with lead. She could smell the skin burnt with the laser.

Jake aimed his 10mm pistol at the second Merc and got a lucky headshot. The third Merc had nothing but a hunting rifle and sheathed combat knife. The Talon Company Mercenary squeezed the trigger. The bullet grazed Evelyn's arm.

"Fucker!" Evelyn cried out, feeling the blood drip down her arm. Jake finished the third Merc off and quickly kneeled down to her.

"You okay?" He asked, digging through his bag. Evelyn bit her lip and nodded. Jake didn't warn her before sticking the Stimpack needle in her arm, for fear of her tensing up. He wrapped her arm with gauze and helped her up. "Move your arm around so it doesn't stiffen."

Evelyn complied and stretched her arm. She strapped the combat shotgun to her back and picked up the laser pistol up. It was still in fairly good condition.

"Why don't we split everything 50/50?" Evelyn suggested, already starting to rifle through the pockets of the fallen men. The first man had some energy cells in his pocket. He also had an inhaler of Jet. Evelyn looked to Jake who was still rifling through the other's pockets. Evelyn stood up, leaving the Jet container on the ground. She crushed it under her boot. She smelt the contents of the inhaler in the air.

"Hey, what was that for? Those sell for thirty caps at least." Jake exclaimed when he saw the smashed plastic.

"I don't want you to become a drug crazed Raider. You have to find your Dad."

"Yeah, the Jet just helped take the edge off of the huge changes." Jake admitted quietly, taking the sheathed combat knife and clipped it to his belt.

"Don't take any more of that shit. Got it? I'll, uh. I'm." Evelyn stuttered out. She couldn't tell him that she could've helped him with whatever he needed help with instead of turning to drugs. It was to embarrassing and plus, she didn't know long this little 'deal' was going to last.

"I got the gist of that. Thanks. I don't feel much like scavenging in the 'Super Duper Mart'. Do you?"

"Nah. Not after that little 'fight' with these fucking Mercs. Besides, it's only gonna get worse from here on out."

And how right Evelyn was.

LWLWLWLWLWLW

A/N: A tiny bit shorter than the last chapter, but I just wanted to get something put up while I was figuring out how to go about writing CH3.

I'll probably end up writing Evelyn and Jake's journey into the Metro's and then so on from there. Don't know yet.

Thank you to the two of you who reviewed and the ones that added this story to their alert list. (:

One last thing, if you haven't reviewed yet, review! Because unless you review I have no clue how I'm doing!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I hate quest retellings. A lot. But I'll just do the main quest and the Broken Steel add-on if I feel like it. Bear with me while I finish this; because I have plans for Evelyn.

At this point Evelyn and Jake have already made it to Three Dog, and now they're halfway through the Metros (because I finally turned on my computer to double check the quest stuff and realized I totally mixed up the Metro's). I'm really sorry for that but I'll try and make up for it.

One last thing, I don't own Fallout 3. I do not own anything in this story except for Evelyn and Jake. I just own the copy of Fallout 3 I use for referencing. (:

LWLWLWLWLW

Evelyn squeezed the trigger after carefully aligning the shot on the last unknowing Feral Ghoul. According to Jake's 'Pip-Boy' they were halfway through the Metro to get to the Museum of Technology. They had found a Raider's hideout a few minutes ago. And before that they found Buffout, Jet and Psycho on the table along with a bottle of whiskey.

Evelyn had handed Jake the inhaler expectantly. He gave her a pleading look but Evelyn just crossed her arms and stared him down. Jake sighed and crushed the Jet under his boot. Evelyn grinned and messed up his hair playfully.

"Good boy. Now we don't have to waste time and caps getting you treated for those fucking horrible addictions."

"Yeah yeah. You should be thankful I don't go spending all those caps on Nova."

"I count my lucky stars." Evelyn mischievously chided.

Jake put a lone finger to his lips to shush her. He kneeled down and Evelyn did the same. She couldn't hear anything, but apparently Jake could.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" A Raider sang out, with a chillingly smooth voice. Jake quietly inched over to the wall. He leaned into the shadows, against the wall. Evelyn repeated his motions. Jake took his 10mm pistol out, quietly as he could.

The Raider girl laughed out as she passed. Jake didn't make a sound as he pulled the trigger. The drugged up woman didn't make a sound as at least three bullets hit her. She turned and pulled her sawed-off shotgun out of the hip holster.

"Shit." Evelyn muttered, pulling the shiny laser pistol out of its holster. The now familiar sound of lasers being fired off filled the Metro, along with actual bullets. The Raider fell after a few seconds of both Evelyn and Jake firing at her.

"I'll never get used to the smell of burnt skin." Evelyn mumbled, taking the sawed-off shotgun. "What do you think, Jake?" Evelyn asked, holding the gun at her hip.

"I think you better be careful or I'm gonna end up without a limb." Jake said flatly.

"You're no fun." Evelyn took the shotgun shells out of the gun and sat it on the ground. The combat shotgun on her back needed the shells more. And plus, she didn't like anything that had only two shots. She wasn't that accurate. She opened the pouch on the side of her bag for shotgun shells.

"How much farther till we get out of this fucking hellhole?" Evelyn asked, putting her pistol in its holster and taking her combat shotgun off of her back. Energy cells had been hard to come by so far. Evelyn started walking forward, almost jumping out of her skin when Jake put a hand on her shoulder.

"What the..?" Jake put his hand over her mouth and pulled her back, slowly and quietly.

"Super Mutant, be quiet." It was barely a breath in her ear and even as a whisper it made her shiver. "Hand me the shotgun."

Evelyn quietly obliged and handed Jake her shotgun. He kneeled down and looked through the iron sights on the shotgun. Evelyn melted into the shadows, carefully watching Jake aim. She got out the 10mm pistol of her own.

A shot rang out through the Metro. Not even a second later, loud and painful groaning startled Evelyn. Jake shot again, this time making the beast fall. The groaning and the sound of a gun firing attracted several Feral Ghouls. Evelyn shot, spraying bullets everywhere. A couple of Ghouls fell. Jake took down more than a few.

Evelyn reloaded effortlessly and shot the rest of the Ghouls. Jake handed her the shotgun and took the sawed-off shotgun in exchange. They stepped over the Ghoul bodies and towards the Super Mutant.

"He's got a hunting rifle. You think you can use the parts to repair my hunting rifle?" Jake asked, holding the hunting rifle out for her. She took the gun and strapped it to her back.

"Like I said, let's get out this hellhole first." And that's exactly what the duo did. Got the hell out of the Metro and breathed in the fresh air. As fresh as Post-Apocalyptic air could be.

"I hear Mutants again, I'll go first and see how many there are." Jake said, handing Evelyn his bag. She groaned at the hefty weight of the bag.

"What the fuck do you have in here? Useless junk?" Evelyn inquired.

"Something like that; now be quiet so the Giant Uglies don't hear you and try to use your bones for a necklace."

Evelyn quieted after that and leaned against the railing. She hadn't slept in a couple of days now. She stifled a yawn and saw Jake inching back.

"The Museum of History is right over there. We're gonna run like hell there so we don't have to deal with Three Dog's stupid dish today. I'm going to fucking kill whoever's bright idea it was to shoot that thing down." Jake muttered, lifting his bag with ease.

"As long as the Ghouls there will sell us Stimpacks." Evelyn said, already scrunching her nose at the thought of the smell.

"Okay, ready?"

Evelyn nodded and followed Jake closely as they sprinted to the History Museum. Evelyn heard the bullets whizzing past them and that made her push herself even more. Jake breathed heavily, kneeling over with his hands on his knees.

"Ah damn, more tourists."

"Hey who are you calling a tourist?" Evelyn snapped, looking over at the ghoul with the thinning red hair.

"Well, Vault Boy over here brought his girlfriend to Mutant infested DC in hopes that seeing our Country's great monuments would get him laid."

"Who are you anyways?" Jake asked, a little annoyed that someone had just called him a tourist.

"Willow, the Sentry for Underworld." Willow told them. "So don't try anything."

"We don't want any trouble, just a warm bed and something to eat."

"You should go see Carol. She has a spare bed."

Jake thanked Willow and led Evelyn into the Museum of History.

"…I can already smell the rotting flesh." Evelyn sourly commented and Jake elbowed her softly.

"Be nice."

"As if you weren't thinking it, Jacob. I know they're humans. I'm not calling them Zombies or acting as if they're lesser because of the way they look. I'm just saying they stink." Evelyn gazed up at the huge skeleton and the creature that had a name she didn't know of. They walked through double doors and Evelyn and Jake both flinched at the smell that hit them.

"Well, wooooo-weee. Look at that, we got us a couple of Smoothskins." A blue tinted Ghoul whooped out. There were more than a few Ghouls surrounding him. "I hope you didn't come to cause trouble, we've got a pretty good thing going on down here. I'm Winthrop, the mechanic around here."

"I'm Jake, and this is Evelyn. Like I told your Sentry, I just want some food and a place to sleep."

"Or so you say." Evelyn muttered with a smirk.

"Ignore my other half. She has a nose for trouble." Jake said, quickly backtracking and hoping to God that Evelyn hadn't caused one of the only places around that was safe to sleep become hostile towards them.

"Just make sure to keep your guns in their holsters. And go see Carol for a place to sleep. As long as you've got the caps. Winthrop nodded at the stairs to the right. "Just up those stairs there."

"Thank you." Jake said, holding his hand out for Winthrop to shake. Winthrop stared at it like it was a third arm or something. After a few seconds the Ghoul shook Jake's hand.

Evelyn was already up the stairs. She impatiently tapped her foot against the ground. Jake jogged up the stairs and Evelyn opened the door.

"Oh my! I haven't seen a Smoothskin in such a long while. And such a pretty one too."

Evelyn smiled and blushed a little.

"You must be Carol. We would like to rent a room." Evelyn said, still smiling.

"Of course! 120 caps for the night." Carol handed Jake a key after he handed her the caps. "It's just past the door there and to your left."

"Well at least we have privacy." Evelyn mumbled, sitting her bag down on the ground. Jake handed her his worn out hunting rifle. He closed the stall behind him.

"I'll sleep on the floor."

"Oh please, we are both adults Jake. Nothing's going to happen." Evelyn sat cross legged on the bed, already starting to take the hunting rifle apart. It felt good to sit down on something other than the hard ground.

"I'm going to go find somewhere to sell this stuff." Jake said, already picking his bag up.

"Don't pick up anymore strays." Evelyn snickered. Jake smiled and ruffled her hair in return.

"Don't worry; you're enough to keep me company."

"Whatever you say Jakey boy!" Evelyn yelled out as Jake left Carol's place.

Evelyn carefully placed the better working parts from the worn down gun into Jake's. There weren't many so she made sure to fix the gun with precision. Evelyn lost herself in thought of what the Mojave and the Vegas Strip was like until Jake scared her.

"We need a thousand caps." Jake whispered, sitting on the bed next to her.

"We.. What?" Evelyn asked dumbfounded. Jake sighed in exasperation.

"There's this Ghoul in the bar, and he's a slave to the bar owner, Ahzrukhal. If we buy him we can. I don't know. I haven't gotten that far yet."

"You're just a regular Good Samaritan aren't you?"

"Please, Eve? Please?" He pleaded, his blue eyes burning into her green orbs.

"For one, don't call me Eve. And how many caps do we have?" She asked, rubbing her forehead.

"600; we can easily earn the rest by tomorrow. Those Super Mutants have weapons which you can fix up and sell."

"You're insane." Evelyn muttered, putting the hunting rifle on the ground next to their bags. She laid her head on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling.

"So I've been told. Please, Eve? Please?" He pleaded, almost begging.

"It's not a fucking dog Jake."

"We could help him. Get him out of that hellhole. Who knows what Ahzrukhal has him doing!"

"A thousand caps is a lot, hun. Isn't there anything else we could do?" Evelyn asked, looking over at the young man.

"Kill off the competition." Jake muttered his eyes downcast.

"What do you mean?" Evelyn asked, propping herself up.

"We'd have to kill Greta."

"What? No! We can't!"

"We're not going to. We just need a thousand caps to save him."

Evelyn sighed quietly. "Fine. Fine." She laid back down, staring at the ceiling again. Jake plopped next to her and relished in the comfortable bed. Nothing like the Vault beds but it was way better than a hard ground wondering if you were going to make a Yao Guai's next meal.

LWLWLWLWLW

Oh wow, I am so totally humbled that I got a review from Hotpoints(whose Fallout story I absolutely adore)

It seems to me that it took a while to get Chapter 3 up, for which I apologize but my router was being a complete asshole and decided to die.

The next chapter is basically Evelyn and Jake's trek to the Museum of Technology and hopefully getting Charon's contract.

As always, please review. (:


	4. Into the Vault we go

"More Mutants in there." Jake whispered.

"How do you know that?" Evelyn asked, tilting her head slightly.

"My Pip-Boy. It tells me if there are any hostiles or friends around. It also tells me where neutrals are."

Evelyn blinked and opened the door, newly found AK74U in her hands. She had begged Jake to let her keep the gun. Crazy Wolfgang had one but she hadn't been able to afford it.

A Super Mutant stupidly ran out from behind a huge wing; Evelyn pulled the trigger and kept her finger there until the Mutant fell. Another one yelled from the second level. He shot a rusty hunting rifle, successfully jamming it. Jake aimed his hunting rifle and effectively hit the Super Mutant. A couple more shots took the now un-armed Mutant down.

Evelyn noticed a desk and immediately walked over to it. She scanned the desk for anything useful or worth anything at all. The whole place was mess. Pillars were crumbling and debris was everywhere.

"Oh how cute. Someone must've been fuckin' bored." Evelyn said looking down at the little house made of pencils and the bottle cap for a doorknob. Evelyn pocketed the doorknob and continued to look around for anything of value. The only thing she found was Turpentine and she would've ended up using the Turpentine for the guns instead of selling.

"I haven't found anything, you ready to move on?" Jake asked, looking back at her.

"Yeah. Let's go." Evelyn grabbed her bag and started heading up the stairs. There were two signs above two doorways. Both read 'Halls of Today'. The hallways were filled with stone and debris.

"Hey look, Stealth Boys." Evelyn grabbed one and studied it.

"Save it. They'll come in handy when we're unable to save our own asses." They made their way out of the Halls of Today into the Vault-Tec showroom.

"Vault-Tec proudly welcomes you to our new line of subterranean Vaults featuring our patented Triple-S Technology!" The speakers proudly played the loop tape. Evelyn looked around curiously at the stone, at the Vault door and the control panel. Jake just sighed and trailed behind her. He already knew how this would go. Vault-Tec propaganda to get people to buy into the Vault idea. He figured it was the only way to get to Three-Dog's stupid dish since every other doorway was blocked.

"Triple-S Technology is Vault-Tec's convergence of the three most important part of apocalyptic endurance: Safety, Survivability and Sanitation!"

As soon as Evelyn stepped in the Vault door, alarms went off and yellow lights started to flash. She jumped back, and Jake steadied her.

"Don't be such a scaredy cat. Nothing's going to happen to you."

"..Says you." Evelyn said, skeptical that nothing would happen to her. What would stop a Super Mutant from jumping out and grabbing her? Jake's measly hunting rifle? Jake poked her in the middle of her back and she started sluggishly walking forward.

"Sleep in quiet comfort knowing that our impenetrable vault doors can withstand a direct hit from an atomic bomb with a 2% failure chance."

"Y'know. I'm glad I live in the Wasteland. I'd get claustrophobia living down here." Evelyn offered a smile. Jake didn't give a smile back. The door opened as soon as the black haired woman stepped in front of it. Evelyn cautiously stepped through the doorway and looked behind her to make sure Jake was still following her. He looked uncomfortable, as convincing as the tape tried to be.

"Being underground got you down? Smile! Our SimuSun Lighting mimics the feeling of being outside with only a fraction of the sunburn potential!" Lights turned on, quickly and all at once.

Evelyn didn't comment this time but slowly started down the stairs. Blood splatters painted the wall and the floor. She saw a bloody hand print on the wall and on the ground.

"Christ, I hope real Vaults weren't like this.."

"They weren't. At least 101 wasn't."

Evelyn gave Jake a sympathetic look which he quickly shrugged off.

"Don't, Eve. It's fine."

"What'd I tell you about calling me Eve? For someone as smart as you, you sure forget that one important fact easily."

"I don't want to hear the rest of the tour. You can stay here if you want but I'm gonna go scout up ahead."

Evelyn handed him a couple of frags. Jake nodded at her and started his way to the exit of the rusted Vault showroom. Evelyn wiped off the glass window in an attempt to see inside of the room better. The room was furnished with nothing but a crib, toy box desk and a locker. She pushed the button and the room lit up.

"The living sections make use of our revolutionary FloorSuck Autocleaner System for those darned messy kids. Never sweep a mess up again!"

She turned and saw a broom, skeleton and a beer. She picked up the beer and put it in her pack. This poor guy was probably the one who put up such a fight. She peeked around the corner and saw more blood. Maybe not. She couldn't bring herself to listen to anymore Vault ramblings.

"Concerns about security? Our Eye-On-You Cameras enable the Vault's leader to watch your every move. You'll never be alone again!"

"Oh my fucking God. No wonder Jake hated it." Evelyn saw the Vault door and hurried towards it, which triggered another Vault tape.

"Should the unlikely event arise that the planet is laid to waste, you'll be happy to know that your family is safe."

"Safe my ass." As Evelyn walked past a desk, it was clear there was nothing occupying the drawers so she didn't give a second though about rifling through it. Almost through the last door which would get her the fuck out of this tour of the Vaults, when Evelyn triggered another tape.

"We hope you've enjoyed our tour today. If you have any further questions, please take a Vault-Tec brochure from your Tour Guide!"

"Well at least that's over." Evelyn opened a set of doors. The choice was either take the staircase or go through another set of doors. Fuck, she had no idea where she was going.

Evelyn went through the set of doors and saw a huge rocket. It had steel wires holding it in place. She also saw terminals, which obviously would give information on the rocket. One thing piqued her interest though; the Super Mutant bodies on the ground. Their guns were gone and any ammo they were carrying.

"Hey!" Jake called from above her. He was carrying a huge dish in his hands. Evelyn didn't see how he didn't fall over. Jake wasn't the strongest guy, but he wasn't exactly weak either. He was more book smart and he knew how to talk to people. Something that Evelyn lacked thanks to her Dad.

"You have got to be shitting me. Are you seriously carrying that all the way to the Monument?"

"You can handle watching my back with your new toy there, can't you?"

Evelyn stared at him like he was stupid or crazy. Or any combination of the two. But then again if he trusted her enough to watch his back then Evelyn would gladly watch his back.

"Where's your pack?" She had asked once she noticed Jake's pack was missing.

"Hidden. Couldn't carry both the pack and the dish. We ready?"

A new clip was placed swiftly into the AK74U. She nodded to Jake and they made their way to the main doors of the Museum of Technology.

Evelyn opened the door, and looked around for any Super Mutants. There were none. Good, that made their job easier. The sun was setting low on the horizon.

"It's safe. C'mon." Jake went first, walking as fast as he could to avoid any conflicts with hidden Super Mutants. Evelyn waited until she could see him near the Super Mutant's cleared out camp, and then she started her run. Every few seconds she turned her head to make sure no Super Mutants had decided that the pair was on the menu.

It felt like forever as she carefully watched him hurry to the Washington Monument. And then Evelyn started her quick run. The two Brotherhood of Steel Paladins didn't say anything as Jake slowly walked Evelyn through hacking into the terminal. He had sat the Dish down against the wall to walk Evelyn through the steps of working the terminal.

Evelyn growled in frustration and slammed her fist against the terminal when it didn't unlock the Gate to the Washington Memorial. She had never been around terminals, as curious as she was.

"You'll pick it up, don't worry. Now try again." Jake coaxed soothingly. Evelyn stared at him in disbelief.

"That's right; now just choose the first and only option." Jake murmured. "Type in the password, Renfield.. Good job, Eve."

Evelyn opened her mouth to protest the nickname but Jake was already making his way through the gate.

"Fucker." Evelyn muttered and followed Jake into the Monument. She pushed the button and waited for the elevator. One question had been biting at Jake's mind since last night. They entered the small elevator. Evelyn was squeezed again the wall, along with Jake.

"Why don't you like being called Eve?" He asked her. Evelyn's eyes were downcast now.

"It was what my Mom used to call me before she was killed by Raider scum. Dad would say I looked a lot like her. But I knew that just cause I looked like her didn't mean that I was like her at all. I still had my Father's temper."

"What was your mom like?" Jake asked.

"Oh man. She was beautiful. But she had a wayward heart. Always up and leaving in the middle of the night." Evelyn helped a tired Jake move the dish onto the top of a machine that was likely showing radio waves and strength. Evelyn had a strange urge to fiddle with the buttons and switches.

She looked out the window of sorts and down. As far as the eye could see were trenches. It was obvious that they were from the Brotherhood's failing war with the Super Mutants. She guessed they would be a lot more trouble than they were worth when everything was said and done.

"C'mon let's get going before the Super Mutants go back to the Museum."

And that's exactly what the pair did. They made it to the Museum of Technology and made it back safely.

"Well well. The tourists are back." Willow stated humorously.

"Yeah, sorry we didn't bring you back a present. Super Mutant's shooting at you really dampens the stay at the gift shop." Evelyn replied with a yawn.

"C'mon Eve, before Ahzrukhal closes up."

Evelyn couldn't help but to smile and hurry along with Jake. They had made it to the bar. Evelyn sat in a chair near a tall looking ghoul and waited as Jake bartered and negotiated for Charon's contract.

Jake turned and walked towards the young woman grinning ear from ear. He had a worn piece of paper in his hand. He approached the tall ghoul in the corner and Evelyn watched curiously.

"No. Go talk to.." He began when Jake opened his mouth.

"Hey, none of that. Look, Charon. I have your contract now."

"I'm pleased to hear that. Excuse me I have something to take care of." He talked as if he were from another time. Technically he was. Most of the Pre-War Ghouls were from a time where people didn't worry about radiation or where they're next meal was coming from. They had it easy.

Jake turned to Evelyn and held out the piece of paper for her to take. The young woman was staring past Jake, at Ahzrukhal and Charon. She could barely point as Charon quickly got his shotgun off his back and blasted Ahzrukhal in the head. The seedy bar owner's head exploded, and an eyeball landed near Evelyn's boot. Charon shot him once more for good measure.

"Oh my fucking God."

Jake grabbed his bag of caps back and the now trio made their way out of Underworld. Charon was trailing behind quietly and Jake and Evelyn were close together murmuring about their new companion.

"I don't trust him. I say we take shifts." Murmured the young girl on the right.

"C'mon, he's not going to kill us in the middle of the night. Are you Charon?" Jake asked, looking back at the Ghoul.

"No, Master. It is in my contract not to harm you."

"Master? No, I'm not your Master. I'm Jake."

Charon looked puzzled at this but didn't say anything. He sat against the wall in the lobby and watched over his new ma- Jake as he and Evelyn fell asleep.

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A/N: Yeah I got lazy on them going back to the Museum of History, sorry. I took long enough on this chapter and just wanted to get it posted.

As always, please review.


	5. Chapter 5

"I swear I'm going to nuke the next Super Mutant I see." Evelyn muttered, picking up the .32 caliber ammo from the fallen Super Mutant. Jake scoffed and picked up three holo-tapes on a filtration system. The only reason he had known what the machine was because of his Dad. Jake had caught him working on it when he had come back to the Apartment after class.

James had unsuccessfully tried to cover up what he was working on. Jake still remembered how furious he was that his Dad was trying to hide something from him. They had never hidden anything from each other. From then on their relationship was strained. And not to long after Jake's Dad escaped the Vault.

He inserted the holo-tape into his Pip-Boy and played it. Evelyn and Jake both listened closely to the man on the holo-tape. He had a faint accent that Evelyn picked up but couldn't identify.

"Vault 112. Its West; past Megaton."

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Evelyn sat on the floor of the 'living room' of Jake's house, working on her AK74U. It had easily become a favored weapon of hers.

Jake sat in an ugly pink chair and Charon was eating. Evelyn didn't trust Charon fully but Jake did.

It had taken some wily charm on Evelyn's part to convince Jake that they needed a break, and some extra sleep. She also stated that he was going to run himself ragged.

"Hey Jake, what kind of accent was it that I heard in your Dad's voice?" Evelyn asked, holding up her gun and looking down the iron sights.

"Russian. It's a country west of here. Haven't you ever heard anyone with an accent like that?"

"No. The only real accent I've is Moriarity's."

Jake didn't say anything else, just kept fiddling with the Pip-Boy on his wrist. Jake's face turned from calm to a little shocked.

"..You're acting weird, Jake."

"I'm going to bed. You can have the bed and I'll take the couch." Jake scrambled upstairs and slammed the door.

"Fucking weirdo.." Evelyn muttered and went back to polishing off her gun.

It was only an hour later when both Evelyn and Charon went to bed. Evelyn fell asleep almost immediately after hitting the pillow. Charon nodded off in a chair downstairs.

In the other room, Jake was hurriedly packing a bag with stuff he would only maybe need in his trip back to the Vault. He would be back before Evelyn or Charon even woke up.

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"Jake!" Evelyn called out, silently cursing her companion. Charon was to check Springvale and she got Vault 101. Great. She opened the flimsy wooden door and looked into it. She called Jake's name again and heard her voice echo.

Evelyn started into the tunnel, she was itching to grab her damn gun and shoot the first person she saw. She kept walking and walking until she was at the end of the tunnel. The first thing that met Evelyn's eyes were skeletons. The steel door like in the Vault display at the Museum of Technology was open.

Evelyn felt a shudder run up her spine. It took her a few seconds to actually step in the doorway. Oh she was going to kill Jake! As much as it killed her to admit it she wished Charon were with her, at least then she'd have someone to hide behind.

But she didn't so she braved going into the unfamiliar Vault. The first thing that she made out was a tall and lean Vault Boy. He had over greased black hair and tanner skin than Jake.

"Who the fuck are you and where's Jake?"

"Talkin' to the new Overseer. Who're you?"

"You didn't answer my question." Evelyn snapped, still ready to grab her gun if she had to.

"You didn't answer mine."

"Evelyn! What the hell are you doing here?" It was Jake. Just Jake.

"What gave you the idea you can fucking run off in the middle of the night, huh!"

"Aw Evelyn, were you worried?" Jake teased.

"No. You left without telling me or Charon." Evelyn caught the sight of a young-adult woman in the corner of her eye. She was taller than Evelyn. Go figure, Evelyn thought bitterly.

She had a darker complexion but you could clearly she the bags under her soft brown eyes. Her brown hair was up in a messy bun.

"I'm a big boy Evelyn, I'm sure I can take care of myself."

Evelyn didn't argue his statement, sleepiness clouding her mind. She yawned.

"Amata, this is Evelyn. She's my.. Gun for hire."

"Hello." Amata said quietly.

"So, can I have my old apartment back? Sleeping in the Wastes is hell on my back."

"Jake, I'm sorry. You're a hero. But you have to leave. There's so much to fix and having you here would just make everything that much harder." Amata murmured, still a little hurt that Jake would've replaced her with someone from the Wasteland.

"I'm sorry, what? I saved your asses from a civil war down here. And you thank me by kicking me out? This was my home too."

"It _was_. I really am sorry but you've changed too much. Maybe you can come back when everyone has calmed down and I've gotten a handle on everything." Her voice was cool and collected. She wouldn't let Jake see how much this hurt her.

Jake turned on his heel sharply and walked out of the Vault for good. Right now he didn't give a fuck if he ever saw the inside of a Vault again. Evelyn hurried to follow him. She wasn't the best at comforting people but she held out her hand for Jake to take.

It was a small gesture but it made Jake feel better. Maybe he didn't have the Vault but he had something better. He had miles and miles of wide open spaces. He could do whatever the hell he pleased until his dying day.

He heard the Vault door shutting and didn't care. Evelyn opened the flimsy wooden door and what he saw surprised him.

A puppy. A skin and bones puppy that Evelyn had already taken in her arms.

"Jake.."

He knew what was coming. He just knew it.

"Can we pleeeeeeeeaseee keep him? He needs us Jake look at him!" Evelyn held out the puppy whose too big tongue was lolling out of the side of his mouth.

"Yeah. Why the hell not?" Jake breathed out. He needed a new house. Not even in the Wasteland for not even two weeks and he already had two companions and now a dog.

LWLWLW

Short chapter. I know. Sorry. More of a filler than anything. Next chapter, Metro Vampires? And maybe we'll finally meet this James that everyone keeps talking about!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Ha. FF is being stupid and when I went to upload it didn't want to. So. Yeah. I wrote this while watching SSoHPKC(I like him but prefer FPSLetsPlayKyle…) do a play through. Just a warning, it's a long chapter.

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_Jake slowly opened his eyes. His head was pounding. It was pitch black except for the moon shining on the water. It looked like a lake. Not a lake he knew. It was clear and beautiful._

_But what amazed him even more he saw a figure bathing in the water. He felt intrusive but couldn't bring himself to turn away. The lady in the lake turned, arms covering her shapely figure. Green eyes pierced through the darkness. _

_She.. She was Evelyn. _

Jake's eyes snapped open and he quickly looked around. Where the hell was he?

"Evelyn! Charon!" He called out, seeing nothing but pitch black. The smell of a recently put out fire was filling his nostrils. He fumbled for his Pip-Boy light, sleep clouding his mind.

"Hey, it's okay."

Jake gave her a confused look, as to why his head was killing him. His vision cleared and he could see the rising sun. God, why did they let him sleep when he probably had a concussion?

"We were close to a field and a Raider picked up a ball and threw it at your head." Evelyn explained, holding up the white ball as proof. There were a few dried drops of blood on the dusty ball.

"I got taken out by a, Baseball?" Poor Jake asked, incredulous. Evelyn snickered and quieted down when Jake gave her his most withering look.

"I have one thing to say and I'm done. Swear." Evelyn held up both of her hands.

"Fine. Better not make them your last words."

"That Raider girl sure had a helluva arm!" Evelyn giggled and collapsed against the ground laughing. A quick roll let her dodge Jake's fist.

"So what happened after that?" Jake asked, still a little curious.

"Well Charon still had a few grenades from scavenging and took out the Raiders while I dragged you to safety. You really need to lay off the Snack Cakes."

Jake opened his mouth to say something but it got stuck in his throat. His young companion stared at him, green eyes filled to the brim with curiosity. Jake tried to unsuccessfully stand, Evelyn catching his fall. Charon wasn't too far away and quickly made his way over.

"He's fine you over-protective lug. Now go keep look-out for our self appointed Sherriff."

"Simms?" Jake questioned, not being able to see anything past the pitch black except for a few buildings.

Evelyn shook her head.

"Evan King. We're in Arefu. Apparently some weird gang has been attacking the settlement and figuring that'd you be out for a while we decided to play lookout."

"Lucy's parents live here. I have a letter for them."

"Aw, Jake. You're just a regular delivery service aren't you?" Evelyn said with a playful smirk.

"Yeah." The conversation died out and Jake wondered how Evelyn knew every button to push with him. He didn't understand the fact that she could press every of Charon's buttons and never got a clear response other than a grunt. But when she messed with him he got clearly annoyed. But it worked both ways though. He still messed with her.

Jake remembered his Dad explaining to him when he was about twelve why Butch picked on Amata. It was because in reality he liked her. Even though as they got older it got worse and Butch's 'antics' got meaner.

He could only imagine Butch and Evelyn traveling together. Butch would pick at Evelyn just to get a rise out of her, and knowing Evelyn's hot-headed nature that wouldn't be too hard. The hard part would be to keep her from clawing his eyes out.

"Do you want something to eat?" Evelyn asked, looking over at Jake.

"Yeah. So where are the Wests?"

"Dead." She told him, handing him a couple of pieces of Mirelurk meat. He stared at the meat for a few seconds. Lucy's only family was… Dead.

"All of them?" He asked.

"No, we couldn't find Ian's body. King said he had seen the kid hanging around the Family."

"Who're the Family? They kind of sound like a gang."

"They are apparently. They're the people who have been attacking Arefu for a couple of weeks now."

"Well I guess we can take care of them for Arefu. We really need to see if they have Ian too. Where'd King say that they were hiding out?" Jake asked, going over all of the information in his head.

"The Moonbeam Outdoors Theater, Northwest Seneca Station or Hamilton's Hideaway!"

Jake considered all of these options until his stomach started rumbling. He looked up at Evelyn who was disassembling her AK74U and cleaning all of the parts. She loved that thing.

"Where are the Sugar Bombs?" Jake still wasn't used to the Wasteland food despite being out of the Vault for a little over a week now. The steady diet of the same food for years made Jake's stomach weak to harsh and mostly radioactive Wasteland food.

Evelyn handed him the box of cereal and he ate like a starved dog. Speaking of dog's, where was the puppy that Evelyn had attached herself to?

"Where's the dog?" Jake asked. Evelyn whistled loudly and put her gun down on a cleaning rag.

Jake saw a ball of brown fuzz bounding at Evelyn. She oofed when the puppy jumped into her lap. He looked expectantly up at her.

"I named him Dog Meat. Isn't that right, puppy?" Evelyn asked in a voice reserved for babies and puppies.

"Dog Meat? Where in the hell did you come up with that name? And did you give the dog a bath?"

"I don't know.. It's a story my Dad told me a long time ago about this kid named the Chosen One. He had a dog named Dog Meat. I'm not the best with choosing names so I gave him a simple one. And he likes it. Don't you boy?" Evelyn cooed and the dog happily licked her face.

"And yeah, Dog Meat got a bath. I wasn't going to let him run around and stink like he did." Evelyn took the Mirelurk meat Jake neglected to eat. She held it up and the medium sized puppy looked happily up at it. Evelyn told him to sit and placed a hand on his rump until he sat. She praised him proudly and gave him the cooked meat.

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"Evan King told us you were talking to Ian. Where is he?" Evelyn asked, clutching the envelope tightly in her hand. For once she was doing the talking. And Jake decided to let her keep talking.

"We cannot let you see him. He is being kept in a mediation room." Vance said coolly, stony face unwavering. Evelyn growled and headed down the stairs. Jake and Charon followed suit. Evelyn leaned onto the counter where the shop keeper Karl was standing. Jake couldn't help but notice Evelyn was showing her cleavage off.

She had found out the hard way that Ian was being locked in the room by a _terminal_. There was no way in hell she could hack it. She figured that everyone that were trusted by Vance would have it. Her best bet was the shopkeeper and then she would figure out what to do if her charming didn't work.

"Oh Karl," Evelyn purred. "I really need to see Ian. His sister Lucy really misses him. If you would happen to have the password to the terminal then we could see him and tell his sister that he's okay." Evelyn batted her long eyelashes. Karl's eyes darted from her cleavage to her eyes.

"What's in it for me?" He asked, still unconvinced.

Evelyn leaned in closer and stroked the side of his face.

"I'm sure I could come back here and make arrangements with you. But I have to talk to Ian first."

Karl flushed and handed Evelyn a piece of paper with the terminal password sprawled on it.

"Thank you, doll." She said, giving him a man-eating smile. Evelyn pocketed the password and headed up the escalator.

Luckily for the trio Vance was talking to his wife, back turned to them. She was smiling and looking at Vance adoringly. She wouldn't notice them as long as they were quiet.

They snuck past the married couple and Evelyn entered the terminal password, stuck in her mind were the instructions Jake had given her at the Washington Memorial.

In the middle of the room sitting at a table was a skinny boy with short brown hair. He looked up at them, sadness and surprise written all over his face. Evelyn stepped forward.

"You're Ian right?" Evelyn asked softly.

Ian nodded.

"You're sister is worried about you." Evelyn sat down the envelope and he grabbed it. His long fingers grabbed the envelope and opened it. He read the piece of paper, a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"What I did was terrible.. You know don't you?"

Evelyn bit her lip and gave a slight nod.

"You must think I'm some kind of monster then." Ian muttered looking away from Evelyn.

"No. I don't. I think you're a lost kid that misses his sister."

Ian didn't say anything. He got up and let the letter fall from his hand. He threw himself in Evelyn's arms and cried audibly. Evelyn blushed and awkwardly reached her arms around Ian.

"She misses about me enough to send someone to find me. I think I should go back to Arefu." He wiped his eyes and nose and let Evelyn go.

"I think that would be a good idea Ian." When Ian turned away from her she started her way out of the room. Jake watched her carefully. She was assuming a leadership role and to be honest he didn't mind.

Vance turned to her and Evelyn knew he knew. She didn't completely understand how he knew but he did.

"It seems like we have a lot to talk about the young one don't we?" He asked, voice silk and words carefully articulated.

"Yes we do. But first there's the matter of Arefu at hand. You can't just go praying on them everytime your hungry."

Vance chuckled.

"I think you should try blood packs. It's the same as drinking from a human." Jake interjected.

"Hmm. I survived many years ago by drinking blood packs scavenged from hospital ruins."

"Yeah so why don't you protect them in exchange for blood packs?" Evelyn proposed excitedly.

"Very well. Go to Arefu and return with their decision. I thank you for showing me that your kind _can_ be trusted. It is a lesson that I will not forget. Now what of young Ian? Tell me of his decision."

"He wants to go back to Arefu."

Vance's face fell for a second before he regained his mask of composure.

"It saddens me to lose one of my flock but I believe everyone has to follow their own path. All I was attempting to do was guide him but it seems that responsibility has gone to you. I hope you will be more successful."

Vance unsheathed his sword and held it out to Evelyn.

"Please, I want you to take it. Consider it an apology for all the hardships you had to endure to find this place. Goodbye, human. I find our time together rather…" Vance grasped for the right word. "Educational."

Evelyn took the sword and examined it.

"What is it?" She asked.

"It's called a Shishkabab. It's a sword that uses flamer fuel to work. It has a switch on the side there that turns it on. I ask that you wait until you are out of the Metro to try it out."

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Evelyn and Jake had returned to Evan King who agreed to the peace agreement. They had gone back to Vance, and had a much easier time going through the Metro now that all the traps and Mirelurks were gone.

"Charon. I want you to go back to Megaton and tell Lucy the bad news. And don't forget to tell her that Ian is fine. Okay? And then stay there until we come for you." Jake handed him the key to his house and about a hundred caps.

"It's not much but we can't spare a lot. Sorry."

"I will do as you wish." Charon replied and started his trek to Megaton.

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"You ready?" Evelyn asked Jake. They had found themselves in another Vault. Vault 112, which had been hidden under a repair shop. Both of them had figured it was just a cover-up since the garage was far enough away from any major city. And Springvale didn't seem to be big enough to bring enough business to survive on.

"No. I'm starting to really resent my Dad for this. I love him and hope he's okay I just can't.. Forgive him that easily for leaving me in that underground shithole. Not that this shithole Wasteland is much better."

Evelyn didn't say anything else. From the side of his eye he studied Evelyn in the Vault 112 Suit. It fitted nicely on her, showing her curves that she normally didn't show off.

They found themselves in a room that Jake called the Atrium. It was a large room with a central computer and about 8 incubators.

Jake was accessing a computer and frowned. He walked to the incubator that was hooked up to the computer and peered inside.

"There are people in here. They're some kind of human preservers. Wonder how long they've been in here. Poor bastards."

Evelyn had no desire to see the poor people in the human preservers. Jake however kept looking through the terminals until he found one that puzzled him.

"Weird. They all had names except for this one." Jake walked to the incubator and pressed his face to the glass.

"That's my Dad!" Jake called out. He slammed his fist at the glass, not even scratching it. He took out his M-14 and smashed the butt of the gun into the glass. Still nothing.

"Fuck." He went to the last terminal and saw that no one was occupying it. He pressed the enter button to open it.

"What are you going to do?" Evelyn asked as Jake took his pack off along with his gun.

"Going to find my Dad. It's a Virtual Reality simulator. He has to be in there. Give me a day, okay? And If I don't come out by then Charon's contract and the house is yours to do what you want to with."

"That's crazy. You're going to make it out." Evelyn wasn't so sure but she wasn't going to let Jake see that.

"Yeah." Jake hugged Evelyn for a moment before stepping into the incubator. He scratched Dog Meat between his ears. As soon as he sat down in the incubator the top closed.

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Evelyn sat against the wall staring at that damned incubator. Dog Meat was laying on his belly, ears perked up. She was subconsciously petting the dog's now soft brown fur. His brown eyes were looking around, for any threats that would hurt his Master.

"What is it boy?" Evelyn asked; voice low and soft. It had been a few hours of waiting. Restless waiting. When the incubator hissed and opened slowly she jumped up. Jake got out, on wobbly legs. Evelyn was quick to help him down from the incubator.

She wrapped her arms around him and let out a sigh of relief. Evelyn felt Jake's arms reach around her. She relaxed into the hug, feeling more comfort than she had felt in a long time.

"Ahem.. Jacob?" It was that _Russian_ accent that Jake was talking about.

Evelyn freed herself from Jake's arms and turned to the man. It was like looking at Jake, 30 years later. He had graying hair and warm blue eyes.

"Hey Dad." Jake mumbled hugging him for a second and letting go. Dog Meat whined at Jake's sudden mood drop and rubbed his head against Jake's knee. Jake kneeled down to pet the puppy.

"Dad, this is Dog Meat and Evelyn." Jake grabbed his M-14 and holstered it. He grabbed his bag and Evelyn did the same. He turned to his Dad.

"Why'd you leave?" Jake asked, voice filled with sadness.

"Project Purity. I had to get it working again. You were supposed to stay in the Vault where you had a future." His Dad answered.

"You could've taken me with you." Jake countered. He was fighting to keep composure and Evelyn could see it.

"No. You had a future in the Vault. And your Mother would've wanted you to stay in the Vault."

"Doctor Li told me about how you were working on this before I was born. So what, I was just another obstacle that you had to get out of the way before you went to coddle your damn project?"

"No, of course not. I love you so much Jacob."

Jake looked his Father in the eyes this time. James stared back. He had gotten the black hair and fair skin from his Mother. But the eyes were definitely his.

"I'm going to Rivet City, I would very much like for you to come."

Jake shook his head and handed his Father a shotgun.

"I have no desire to go with you for this project. I'm going back to Megaton. You coming, Eve?"

It was a stupid question.

"Of course."

"Let's go then." Jake set the pace at a brisk walk.

"Jake!" His Father called. Jake didn't look back. Just kept walking, Evelyn and Dog Meat at his side.

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Sorry for the emo-ish ending. Was listening to Mockingbird by Eminem. And I don't remember if Vance really gives you the Shishkabab or just the schematics. I really don't care lol.


	7. Chapter 7

Evelyn sat across from Jenny, chin resting on her arms. It had been a couple of weeks since that day in Vault 112. Jake refused to touch the subject of his Father. It was pissing her off. She was stubborn but Jake was even more stubborn.

"So what do you plan to do?" Jenny asked. She crossed her arms over her chest. Evelyn stared down at the bar.

"I… Don't know. Either he goes on living his life without his Dad or I figure out a way to get him to deal with it for once and for all. Either option sounds fucking horrible to deal with."

Jenny's face lit up with a smile.

"What? You're creeping me out." Evelyn asked.

"I've never seen you so attached to anyone. You up and leave with him and then come back with a Ghoul and a Dog. What's next, a kid?"

"Jen. Shut the fuck up. I have no intentions of having a kid right now. I can't even get Jake to face his Daddy issues!" Evelyn whined and buried her face in her jacket.

"It can't be that hard to do Evelyn. He just needs some prodding."

"More like he needs a swift kick in the ass in the right direction." Evelyn got up and wondered where Jake would be. Moira's or the Irish Bastard's Saloon. She had woken up to no Charon and no Jake. Evelyn looked up towards the gate. She saw Jake. The sun shone off his dirty black hair. She could see Charon and a kid next to Jake. He was medium sized for his age and was obviously scared.

Dog Meat barked happily and sprinted to Jake. Evelyn scowled and walked over to him. She put a hand on her hip and stared him down. He had scratches on his face and burn marks. They looked like they hurt, a lot.

"Were you planning on telling me you were going?" Evelyn asked. The small boy held his hand out for Dog Meat to sniff.

"Nope. We weren't doing anything that dangerous. Well that was until Bryan found us. He wanted us to find his Dad, and we had to help him. His Dad ended up being dead. He has some family in Rivet City," His eyes flashed with the pain that Evelyn knew he had tried to hide. "And we are going to escort him there. Aren't we Bryan?" The boy nodded and looked up to Evelyn.

"Are you going to see your Dad while we're there?"

Jake's answer was quick and unfeeling.

"No. We'll stay there for a couple of days and then we'll come back."

Evelyn didn't know quite how she was going to get them to talking again but she was going to. She looked down at Bryan. She unlatched a bag of caps from her belt and handed them to Jake.

"Go see Doc Church and then go get some sleep. We can leave tomorrow." She watched Jake and Charon walk towards the Doctor's Office and enter the building. She looked to Bryan. "You hungry?" Evelyn asked, trying to be as nice as she possibly could. Bryan nodded. She held her hand out for him and Bryan looked at it for a few seconds before taking it. She led him to the Brass Lantern. Bryan sat at one of the stools. Jenny looked at Evelyn, grin on her face.

"Give him whatever he wants and I'll pay for it later."

Brian looked up at Evelyn and she looked down at him.

"I can have anything?" He asked slowly, still testing the waters with his new Guardian for the moment.

"Yep. As long as Jenny over there has it, you're allowed to have it."

"I want a Nuka Cola and a snack cake!"

"Expensive taste there huh?" Evelyn asked with a grin on her face. Jenny handed the boy a Fancy Lad Snack Cake and a Nuka Cola.

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As promised, the group left Megaton in the morning. The sun was barely peeking up from behind the clouds. The wind blew softly making the air crisp. The dirt crunched under their boots as they walked south. Dog Meat panted happily. The dog was growing every day before Evelyn's proud eyes.

The trip to Rivet City took all day. They met hardly any problems except for the occasional Raider. And even then Charon dispatched the "threat" before any damage was done.

Brian watched excitedly as the bridge was extended. The bridge sat still as stone as the group walked over it. The Rivet City security guard eyed them warily but didn't say anything.

They followed the signs to Vera Weatherly's hotel. Evelyn felt claustrophobic as Jake talked to Vera. She was an older woman with eyes that surveyed Evelyn. It wasn't in a nice, kind way that Maya had but in a scornful way. Evelyn crossed her arms over her chest and tried her best to blend in with the wall.

"Brian?" Vera said quietly as the boy walked forward. He barreled into his Aunt and hugged her leg. She rested her hands on his shoulders and a couple of tears slipped down her cheeks.

Jake turned sharply and left the room. Evelyn followed after. Jake rounded a corner and bumped into Dr Li. She stumbled a little and another Scientist, Anne Holt steadied her. Evelyn braced herself for an insult to be thrown at her or Jake. Or even Charon. Dog Meat growled and his hackles rose.

"Are you going to the Jefferson Memorial?" She asked. Jake contemplated for a few seconds before giving her an answer.

"Yeah. I am."

Evelyn stood, awe-struck at Jake's decision. As soon as Dr. Li and her misfit band of Scientists and mechanics had left for Jefferson Memorial, Charon, Evelyn and Jake followed them. The trip to the Memorial wasn't that bad, all of the Super Mutants had already been taken care of on their last trip there.

Dr Li led the way to the Rotunda. Jake saw his Dad and his chest tightened. Evelyn's hand found his and he smiled gratefully at her. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Jake made his way up the steps and saw his Father clearly now. He still looked as he had in Vault 112, if not scruffier.

"Jake. I'm so glad you came." His Father said, smiling. James' voice was filled with warmth and love. It made Evelyn's chest ache for her own Father.

"Yeah. Dr Li said this place needs a lot of work to be able to function again. What do you need done?" Jake asked. His words were carefully planned out and emotionless.

"I need you to turn off the Flood Control Pump power." James gave Jake the directions to where the power switch was.

Jake turned to leave, along with Evelyn but James had stopped her. He told her that he wanted a word with her. Evelyn's mind raced, trying to figure out what he wanted.

"I don't want to interfere with your relationship with my son, but I need to know your intentions are pure and not for your own gain."

"I'm his Gun for Hire. I don't want to take advantage of Jake. That's the last thing he needs."

James stared at Evelyn. He had caught the double meaning in her tone. He knew she was talking about him.

"I didn't want to leave him. But the Wasteland needed clean water. Jake didn't need his Dad that much anymore. He was supposed to stay in the Vault, where it was safe. He had a whole future before him."

"He has a future out here, as much as he did in the Vault." Evelyn countered. She heard Jake's oh so familiar footfalls and turned to him. He gave her a reassuring smile and greeted his father.

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end. I shall give unto him who is athirst the fountain of the waters of life freely," James smiled sadly. "Your Mother loved that verse."

"Yeah. Whatever. You need anything else?" Jake asked. Evelyn shot him a glare which he clearly ignored.

"I need you to replace the fuses on the fuse box." Evelyn followed Jake. He didn't say anything. She didn't want to either but Jake wasn't going to get the closure he needed unless she did something, _anything_.

"Your Dad's sorry, Jake." She said. Jake took the old fuses from the fuse box and dropped them. He replaced them with the new ones. A large green light to the side of them turned on.

"Yeah. I got that. He's not sorry enough to abandon this fucking project of his."

"Because it's really great and it's going to help everyone out so much. He doesn't need to Jake. I think you two just need to sit down and talk about it."

Jake angrily stabbed the intercom button with his finger.

"Where do I go now?" He asked. Evelyn crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down.

"Now you just need to boot up the mainframe. It is on the upper level of the basement. And Jake?"

"Yeah, Dad?" Jake answered, itching to get to the mainframe and get this over with.

"I'm proud of you, Son."

Jake rubbed at his eyes.

"C'mon. The sooner we get this done with the sooner you can get back to your Dad." Evelyn mumbled, trying to be comforting. Jake nodded and brushed the hair out of his eyes. He needed a haircut. Maybe he could get Wadsworth to give him one whenever he got back to Megaton. Then again, maybe he could find a _human_ hairdresser that wouldn't get a flamer so close to his hair.

They'd went up the stairs and to the huge steel door. Jake pressed a button and the door whirred up and disappeared into the ground. Jake walked over to the mainframe and pressed the button. He covered his eye reflexively when the mainframe booted up. The lights shone in his eyes and then they dimmed.

He walked to the intercom and pressed the button calmly this time.

"Hey Dad." He had calmed down and was tired of hating his Dad for something that would help other people so much. Evelyn was right.

"There are a few repairs that I'll need help with in the control room. Why don't you head back here and give me a hand? Actually, wait. Janice says there's a blockage in one of the intake pipes. It's on the way back. Head back to the museum level and give me a call on the intercom when you get there."

Evelyn sighed and stretched out. It felt good to be back in the Wasteland, even though they weren't technically in the Wasteland right now. And she was gladder than anything that Jake was back on the road to being happy again. His moodiness was a bitch to deal with. And most days he was moody as a man could be.

She heard James over the intercom and crossed her arms over her chest. Sitting in Megaton those two weeks had made her lazy once more. Her feet were killing her and all she wanted was to get James' errands done and go lay down in a bed.

Jake eyed the grate warily. This would've been much easier with Charon but he couldn't complain. Charon was outside and patrolling the area for Super Mutants or any other threats.

Jake groaned as he and Evelyn lifted the grate and sat it to the side on some debris. He made his way in the pipe first and scanned for any threats. He didn't see any and called for Evelyn.

Evelyn stared into the dark pipe. She sat on the side and tried to feel any solid ground below her. She didn't.

"It's not that far. I'm here, don't worry." Jake soothed. He was using his persuasion voice. Evelyn had come to know that voice very well. He used it when he wanted someone to do something for him, give him a discount, and give him more caps. Anything that would've helped him out in the long run.

Evelyn braced her body and jumped. Jake was right, it wasn't that long of a fall. Jake steadied her and they could freely walk in the pipe. Their heads touched the wires at the top of the pipe. Evelyn stayed behind Jake and every few seconds she would move out of the way of a light that shone brightly, glowing in the dim surroundings.

They had made it to another grate and Jake had used Evelyn's help to move the grate once more. There was a lone red valve. Jake had a hell of time trying to get it to turn. It hadn't been used it what seemed like years. As soon as the valve did turn he heard a loud and deafening sound. Dust swirled around and in the corner of his eye he saw Evelyn cover her eyes with her arm. He saw one of things land. He racked his brain trying to remember what the flying vehicle was called. Varti... No. Vertibird. That was it!

"Everyone, it seems we have some surprise visitors. I don't know who they are or what they want. Please remain in your assigned areas while we get this sorted out.. The Enclave? They're _where_?" It was James. He didn't sound calm and collected anymore. "Madison, lock that door!" He ordered. Jake looked at both of the grates. Both of them were 'locked'. The red writing flicked above the left grate and changed to a green color and informed them it was unlocked now.

Jake and Evelyn made their way down the pipe carefully and slowly. It wouldn't be good for either of them to be injured when the Enclave was interfering in Project Purity. They made it past _another_ grate and Jake saw the Enclave Soldier almost immediately. Shit. The only way was down and he jumped. He bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut at the pain. He jabbed a Stimpack into the leg that he landed on and disposed of the empty Stimpack container.

Evelyn jumped down and he caught her effortlessly. They headed back to the Control Room. Dispatching the Enclave Soldiers, which wasn't that easy. Evelyn took the Plasma Rifles that they had and holstered both of them. She wouldn't be able to carry much more. The pack on her back was full and she needed to get to a Caravan soon.

"What's going on?" Jake asked Li, who was hugging her chest and looking like she was going to be sick.

"The person in charge is to step forward and turn over all materials related to this project, immediately." The man talking had a slight accent.

"I'm afraid that's quite impossible. This is a private project and the Enclave has _no_ authority here." James was using the same voice that Jake did. The smooth and charming voice that belonged to someone who got their way by talking.

"I'm assuming here, Sir that you are in charge?"

"Yes, I'm responsible for this project."

"Then I hereby request, again that you turn over all project materials." The man in the strange looking coat said coolly. His voice was the same as James, trying to get what he wanted. But it had a dangerous edge and James picked up on it.

"I'm sorry but that's.."

"Furthermore you will help Enclave Scientists get this project up and running." The man cut James off quickly. He obviously had no respect for James, or the project he had worked so long on.

"Colonel.. It is Colonel, correct? This facility is not operational.. It never was and it most likely never will be." James tried to cover up his accent, knowing it sounded harsh but wasn't successful. He was getting aggravated with this man, coming in and demanding that he give up his life's work.

"This is the last time I am going to repeat myself! Turn over all control of this facility!" Just like with James, the Colonel's tone was becoming harsh and impatient.

"Colonel, I assure you. This facility is not able to function. We have never been able to replicate test results."

Jake didn't believe his Dad and neither did the strange man with the strange accent. The Colonel un-holstered his 10mm Pistol and shot Janice in the chest until she fell. Evelyn and Dr. Li gasped.

"Turn over the facility to prevent any more "accidents!" The Colonel's voice was cold and calculating.

"Yes, Colonel. I'll do whatever you want. Just no more violence." James turned.

"Good. I'm glad you see it my way. You will aid us in making it operational once more."

"Very well." He punched in three buttons.

"My patience wears thin."

"It'll only be a few more moments." James stated, looking at the Colonel through the corner of his eye. Evelyn felt the radiation spike and backed up instinctively. The Colonel injected himself with something. She couldn't figure out what, but he passed out not a moment later. The two Enclave soldiers inside the control room fell to the floor, armor clanking loudly. James made it to the Emergency bulkhead as fast as he could. Which seemed like a crawling pace.

"Run… Run!" He gasped out before collapsing on the ground. Evelyn had to drag Jake. It was all a blur to him. Into the tunnels, killing the Ghouls. Treating Garza. The Enclave. He didn't know what had happened to Charon. He just prayed the Ghoul would be safe. Safer than his father lying dead in the bunker. Because of some fucking overpowered assholes in black power armor.

They reached the Citadel, Dr Li demanding entrance. He didn't listen as an old man talked. Talked to him. He barely remembered nodding. Sarah Lyons led them to a bedroom where they could rest. Evelyn helped Jake out of his armor and into some loosely fitting pants and a t-shirt. She shrugged out of the armor and slipped on shorts and a white t-shirt.

Jake held onto Evelyn tightly, crying and crying. She held him close to her and stroked his black hair. It wasn't long before Jake wore himself out and finally closed his eyes.

The young man slept fitfully. He had nightmares of the Enclave killing his Father. His Father's blue eyes clouding over. The radiation filling his lungs. The sirens that went off around him. He sobbed loudly and felt a cool hand stroking his back. He quieted and leaned into her.

Evelyn hummed a song she had learned from her Mother and Jake finally went to sleep once more, this time not waking until morning.

LWLWLW.

Man. That was hard to write. Over ten pages, if any of you care. And thanks for continuing to stick with me. I promise we're almost done with the main quest. Again thank you so much for waiting patiently while I finish.


	8. Chapter 8

Charon opened his eyes slowly, hearing a girl's voice above him. He was under the familiar haze of Med-X. He couldn't move, no matter how much he willed himself to. Jesus, someone had given him alot. Ghouls had usual resistance to drugs and Med-X wasn't an exception.

He saw a girl, around Evelyn's age, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. Her skin was pale and to clean for her to be from the Wasteland. She had her hands on her knees and was looking curiously down at him. There was something in her eyes that made his mouth go dry.

"Hi! I'm glad you woke up! I was afraid you had died on me!" Her voice was high and chilling. She had a strange accent, one that he had heard somewhere else. But it was faint so he really couldn't put his finger on it now.

Charon just stared at her. Wasn't much more he could do.

"You're not very talkative are you...? Oh well. You're Charon aren't you? My employer told me to find you since we can't find Jake."

At the mention of Jake's name, Charon struggled to sit up. After a minute of straining to sit up and the strange girl helping him he had finally gotten up from his laying position. There was a fucking bitch of a pain in his side. Charon slowly touched his side. It was bandaged tightly and neatly.

"Did… Did you bandage my wound?" He asked slowly. The girl nodded and grinned proudly at him.

"It was hard since you're so heavy, but I managed!"

Charon eyed his shotgun, Bertha who was sitting a few feet away. His hands missed the familiarity of it.

"You have to go with me! You're going to be a lot of help to us!"

_No, I don't you stupid bitch_. But Charon saw the men surrounding them. It wouldn't be a fair fight, even if he did have his shotgun. He was left defenseless and the Med-X was starting to wear off. The girl injected another couple of doses into his neck. He felt the drug coursing through his veins and he tried his damndest to fight the waves of unconsciousness that was rushing over him.

LWLWLW

Evelyn walked out of the A Ring doors, hands clenched into fists. Her nails were digging into her palm and she could feel the pain and a few wet drops of blood.

She had wakened up to Jake and his pack missing. Evelyn had no clue what do or who to ask. Jake was so goddamn prone to leaving in the middle of the night.

Evelyn's green eyes searched through the training grounds. She didn't think there was anyone that could help her, no one that could tell her where the fucking teenager had gone.

She saw Elder Lyons talking with a Paladin and she stomped her way to him.

"Where the hell is Jake?" Evelyn asked, digging her nails into her palm harder, resisting the urge to beat the hell out of the Brotherhood Elder.

"I do not know. He took Star Paladin Cross and left early this morning."

"He's been out of the Vault for what, a month? And you decide to let him parade around the fucking Wasteland like he's some tough badass?"

"I ask that you calm down and let me finish. Star Paladin Cross is one of our most highly trained Paladins. She has years and years of experience under her. I do not worry about Jake if he is with her."

"So you lent out one of your highest ranking Paladins to a kid without even asking where she went."

"I ask that you calm down and then you may come talk to me again."

Evelyn glowered at the Elder before her. She whistled for Dog Meat and the dog followed her. Evelyn had nothing but a pack on her back and her AK74U. She had no idea where she was going. She supposed she should've waited for Jake, but she couldn't spend the rest of her life worrying and wishing for Jake to be there. He obviously was more concerned with his dead parents' project.

Dog Meat panted heavily next to her, as she decided where to go. Megaton? No…

She should've gone west, to Vegas to be with her sister. Carla would've liked that. A feeling nagged at her to stay in the area. She could feel it in the air, something big was going to happen.

Evelyn slowly walked to the water's edge and stared into the irradiated water. Her eyes widened as a girl not much older then her floated by. Evelyn shed her pack and her leather armor. If she got that wet it would take hours for it to dry and it would be uncomfortable.

With nothing on but her bra and panties, she waded into the water. The radiation was already seeping into her, anyway that it could. Her toes were barely touching the bottom of the river. Evelyn took a deep breath and tried her damndest to swim to the woman. Her fingers were brushing against the obvious Raider armor.

Dog Meat had long since jumped in the water and was swimming effortlessly near her.

"Dumb dog." She muttered, mustering up as much love as she could. Dog Meat shook off the water, getting it all over her and the girl.

She had dirty and short brunette hair. It was slightly curly. Her skin was pale. She had dark bags under her eyes and needle marks running up and down her arms.

"I rescued a fucking junkie…" Evelyn growled. "Just my damned luck." She thought of Jake and his caring nature and how he would've helped this girl out, junkie or not. Evelyn didn't know if she had it in her to selflessly help a junkie who would most likely go throw her life away anyways.

Dog Meat sniffed the young woman and whimpered. He looked up at Evelyn, a begging look in his eyes.

"Goddamnit, dog." Evelyn muttered and realized she was talking to a dog. She fully blamed it on the radiation. Evelyn pressed her hands on the girl's chest, and heard a wet cough. Evelyn had no idea what it meant, but it was good news that she had coughed. It meant she was still alive, and she would need radiation treatment. Evelyn had no way of telling how far gone she was with radiation sickness.

She dug in her pack for a bag of Rad-Away and something to keep the needle in place.

Evelyn sucked in a breath and took the woman's hand. She searched for a prominent vein. She thankfully found one. Evelyn bit her lip nervously and stuck the needle in the girl's vein and she stirred slightly. The girl opened her eyes slowly, revealing baby blue eyes.

"Where am I?" The girl asked her voice soft and raspy.

"Near the Citadel. How do you feel?"

"Like someone beat the shit out of me." The girl's small hand went to her ribs and she gasped out in pain. Evelyn steadied her. She grabbed for her pack and the small bag of medical supplies. "You have Med-X?" She asked, her voice becoming a little stronger.

"You don't need any Med-X. I didn't save you so you could go back to being a fucking junkie."

The girl stared at her like she was insane.

"Please? I really need some. I'm sure you can get Med-X anytime you want. I just need it this once…"

"No you don't. And that doesn't matter." Evelyn thought of Jake's selflessness again. She frowned and looked at the girl. "I'll pay for treatment. I'm not going to pay for you going down the rabbit hole though." Evelyn injected the stimpak into the girl's chest, earning a good amount of swearing.

"And if I don't want treatment?" She asked as Evelyn got up.

"It's your life. If you don't want treatment that's fine with me."

"I… I do want the treatment. Please."

There was something about this girl, Evelyn could tell. She had a bad streak of luck and she just needed some kindness and help to turn everything around. Evelyn honestly didn't mind.

"What's your name?" The young woman asked her, looking at Dog Meat.

"Evelyn."

"I'm Lucy. Thank you…" She muttered, looking down.

LWLWLW

A/N: It feels like I'm taking forever with these chapters. My apologies. So much shit going on it seems like loll. We're getting closer to the end of this story.

Oh yeah. I do _not_ own Lucy. Cressida Isolde owns her and she's letting me borrow her to play around with her back-story and everything.

If you've played Fallout: NV. Please please please go check out her stories. They are the best! (In my own humble opinion)

Until next time.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I'm _so_ excited for the finale of this story so I can go send Evelyn to NV like I've been planning to. And more Lucy! Yay!

LWLWLW

The room was dimmed and the sound of pipes and general noises normal to Rivet City was making Evelyn sick. She cursed into the stiff pillow when she heard Lucy emptying her stomach. She made a note inside her head to kill Jake for rubbing his general goodness off on her.

Evelyn got off of the cot and carefully made her way to the small woman. She kneeled down to Lucy and pulled her hair back. Lucy coughed. The noise was sick and made Evelyn wince.

"Can I ask you a question?" Evelyn asked quietly after a few minutes had passed. Lucy had successfully retched all of the food and clean water Evelyn had bought just a few hours before.

"Might as well bare our souls for each other. There's nothing else going on."

Evelyn had to chant in her head it was the withdrawal talking and she couldn't throttle Lucy, no matter how good it would make her feel.

"Why were you in the river? Who'd you piss off?"

Lucy averted her glare at the floor.

"It's none of your business."

"You would've been dead if it were Raiders. Are there any other gangs here?" Evelyn asked, more to herself then to Lucy.

"I... There's…" Lucy didn't finish her thought. Evelyn stood up and grabbed her pack.

"We're not going to sit around all day. You'll do better if we're outside with fresh air."

Truth was, Evelyn didn't want to be sitting in close quarters with a junkie going through withdrawals. Even Jake wasn't that saintly.

"Where are we going?"

"We'll figure that out on the way. Here. You can have this." Evelyn held out her combat shotgun. Lucy's mouth twitched slightly. She took the gun and ran her hand over it.

"What do you want?" Lucy asked, looking at the floor, as if the floor had all the damned answers to life.

"What do you mean?" Evelyn asked quietly.

"You're doing this for a reason. I don't have any caps. Or drugs. You want sex?" Lucy questioned. Evelyn gaped and felt her face turn hot.

"No! I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart!" Evelyn rubbed at her eyes, not sure if she should be appalled or.. She didn't know how she was supposed to react over it. She heard laughter and looked to Lucy.

Her now clean hair was curling and framed her face. Her blue eyes were shiny with tears.

"I was only kidding. You're too innocent for your own good."

"Am _not_." Evelyn argued back as they headed out of the room. They followed the signs to the bridge.

"You are too. I bet you haven't even drunk any alcohol. Have you?" Lucy was smug.

"What difference does it make anyways? Alcohol isn't gonna make me shoot any better."

"It'd loosen you up, kid. You've been walking around here like you have a bone to pick with the world."

The sun was barely peaking up over the horizon. Evelyn whistled for Dog Meat when he went a little too far ahead of them.

"Aren't you observant? I don't have a bone to pick with _anyone_. I'm not exactly jumping for joy either."

Lucy narrowed her eyes.

"Who's the guy?"

Evelyn stopped and turned to Lucy.

"You... How'd you come to that conclusion?"

"You're young. And you have love sick puppy written all over your face."

It took all of the willpower Evelyn had not to gag. Did she really look like that?

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Lucy was gritting her teeth and sweating. Evelyn didn't feel sorry for her at all. It was her choice to stick the needle in her arm, and fuck. She would deal with the aftermath of it. Evelyn wasn't here to make her life any easier. Even if Lucy was a good distraction from her own problems.

They had crouched low and passed the Jefferson Memorial easily. They had walked until Evelyn saw a small shack. It had advertised 'Pirate Pely's Boats and Bait'. She wondered what pirates were.

Evelyn and Lucy stayed by the river until dusk. Evelyn sat on the docks, hugging her knees, while Lucy retched the snack cakes she had barely just eaten. Evelyn wondered for a few seconds if all druggies went through this when trying to quit.

The air had grown humid and the sky was dark. Lucy was staring up at the sky, patiently waiting for something to happen. Evelyn watched her carefully, waiting to see if her companion had finally lost it. Something hit Lucy's cheek, and she didn't do anything.

Evelyn looked to the sky, wondering what was so interesting that Lucy's gaze hadn't faltered. A few moments of waiting and Evelyn had her answer. The radiated water tingled as it hit her bare skin. The drops of irradiated water were coming in what seemed like bucketfuls now. Evelyn got up and grabbed Lucy's arm. Lucy protested but Evelyn was not about to die of radiation poisoning.

They sat in the small shack, as far away from each other as possible. Dog Meat laid on the dirty mattress, watching his Master sit against the wall. A radroach carcass laid near the little counter. Evelyn had already gone through the safe, only finding pre-war money and a Nuka-Cola.

"You have that look again." Lucy said. Evelyn looked at her. She wasn't in the mood for talking. She wasn't in the mood for feeling hurt over Jake. She just wanted it to be simple for one night.

She didn't say anything back to Lucy, just laid against the wall, head resting on her arm.

Lucy watched Evelyn for a long time. She had been like Evelyn too. She still was. She was still that angry girl who wanted to show everyone up. To prove them wrong. Mostly her Mother.

LWLWLW

_Lucy sat against the cold hard wall, her head in-between her knees. She felt like heaving. The Med-X was draining out of her body. And she needed more. Fuck! _

_It'd been three days since she had a proper fix. And since then Snake had been promising her more Med-X. He was the most useless leader they ever had. He wasn't much of a leader anyways. He mostly used his power to fuck the girls in their group. _

_Lucy was used to useless men in her life. It seemed like her Mother had passed down the trait of keeping stupid men around to her. Gee thanks Mom. Lucy thought bitterly. She got up on shaky legs. Lucy grabbed her pack of cigarettes, sighing deeply when she got the tobacco in her system. Cigarettes were becoming harder to find. Great, just another thing that made her fucking life worth living._

_Lucy stomped out her cigarette and sat her Brush Gun against the wall. She made sure Snake was sleeping before attempting to check around for any Med-X. He was passed out, a Psycho needle and another couple still in his arms. _

_She quietly went through the drawers. She found a small supply of Med-X and pocketed it. She felt the pocket knife and looked to Snake. She'd kill him and then what? She'd have to leave that very night. That didn't seem so bad. She'd go out on her own. She'd go all the way east, where the NCR had no jurisdiction and it'd be easy picking. Yeah. It was perfect. _

_She took the pocket knife out, and placed a hand over Snake's mouth. He was barely breathing anyways. She was doing the world a favor. She slit his neck, struggling a little bit._

_Lucy smiled in triumph and turned to leave, wiping the knife on her already dirty shorts. _

_"You think you're slick, don't you?" Fuck her fucking luck. It was one of the muscles of their group. He was huge and had taken to the name Scorpio for some odd reason. _

_"Yeah, I am pretty slick. Why don't you just forget you saw anything, I'm sure someone else is a much more capable leader than _Snake_. Don't you think?" Her voice was slick as silk and she had stepped a couple of steps closer to Scorpio. _

_"No. I don't. He kept the drugs supplied and that's a damn hard thing to do. 'Specially out here in the middle of nowhere." He crossed his huge arms over his chest and she stepped back. There were no windows or other exits in here. Fuck. _

_The last thing she remembered was his huge fist meeting her face._

LWLWLW.

Lucy's hand subconsciously met her face. The stimpak fixed the damage he had caused and she looked normal as she could.

Lucy could still hear the patter of rain and stood up. Dog Meat's gaze fixed on her. She opened the shack door and heard gunshots. By the sound of it, it wasn't Raiders. It sounded like a full out war out there. She grabbed the combat shotgun and shook Evelyn once more. Dog Meat bared his teeth at her and was growling deep in his throat.

"I'm not trying to hurt her, mutt. C'mon Evelyn. We have to get out of here."

Evelyn stirred slightly and grabbed Lucy's hand. She tugged and Lucy helped her up.

"What's going on?" Evelyn asked in a sleepy mumble. Lucy handed Evelyn her bag and gun. Lucy watched impatiently as Evelyn dug out a small satchel. She heard pills rattling around and knew any hoping or praying would've been futile. Evelyn wouldn't give her any drugs. The best she would get would be Rad-X.

"Don't know. Sounds like hell out there though." Lucy downed the two pills easily while Evelyn took them with a few sips of Nuka-Cola.

"I'm going to go see what's going on. You can stay here if you want, Lucy."

Lucy considered this. No. She wouldn't. Even if Lucy did hate Evelyn right now for not feeding her addiction, it didn't mean that she was going to let her go die.

"No."

Evelyn slipped out of the loose pants and t-shirt and pulled on the leather armor. Evelyn held out recon armor for Lucy to take. Lucy didn't argue, just put the recon armor with the help of Evelyn.

It fit her, and she loved the recon armor. She felt like a shadow as they walked, the darkness hiding them. The moon was barely visible and barely giving off any light. Evelyn stopped, staring up. Lucy looked to where she had and gasped. It was a huge.. Robot. She could see the Brotherhood of Steel, and some men in black power armor. She thought she saw a vault suit, but couldn't be sure.

Evelyn took off running though. Dog Meat followed close behind her. Lucy hurried to follow them.

"Who do we shoot?" Lucy asked over the gunfire.

"Black power armor, the Enclave!" Evelyn called back, shooting at the closest man to her.

Lucy threw herself into the fight, fully. She let the fighting instincts take over, removing all traces of civilized thought. The adrenaline coursed through her veins, giving her the rush she had missed so much.

The combat shotgun was in near perfect condition and the bullets easily penetrated the power armor at such a close range. She could see the "Enclave" in a bridge high above them. Evelyn shoved her out of the way as a Brotherhood of Steel Paladin aimed a missile launcher at the bridge. The first shot crumbled the bridge and the three Enclave soldiers fell.

The huge robot behind them was making short work of the Enclave. The way to the Jefferson Memorial was cleared. The haze of killing was wearing off. Lucy watched in pure curiosity as the huge robot disabled the force fields with relative ease. She watched as Brotherhood of Steel paladins hurried up the ramp to dispatch a small squad of Enclave soldiers.

She'd been here before, as a kid. At one time it had been overrun with Raiders. She followed Evelyn into the Memorial and quietly studied the guy. His black hair was dripping water, onto his vault suit. He carried a sawed off shotgun and another weapon she couldn't identify. He turned his head to look at her and she saw clear blue eyes.

So this was him. She couldn't blame Evelyn. He was good looking. He muttered something to Evelyn and Lucy heard that convincing undertone. No wonder Evelyn was so enamored with him.

Lucy saw more Enclave soldiers patrolling the halls. Her hand went to her gun, but Evelyn and the Vault Boy had already taken care of them.

"I'm Jake, by the way." He said, looking back to her once more.

"Lucy." She said with a slight nod of her head. He looked straight ahead once more, opening a door. Two Enclave were waiting for them. She shot them with ease. Lucy saw a older man with strange clothes on. She watched as Jake took the sawed off shotgun from its holster.

The man started to say something but Jake got a clean headshot in before he could say anything.

"Feel better?" She heard Evelyn ask, in the most sarcastic tone she'd heard all day. Jake gave her a tired look.

"Much."

They went up stairs and Lucy looked in awe at the technology surrounding her. She heard the clanking of power armor and saw the blonde woman heading up there.

"Liberty Prime should be mopping up the rest of the Enclave outside, and we can finish up in here." The blonde pressed a button on the intercom and started talking. Her voice was muffled by Jake and Evelyn's.

"Well, so much for celebrating. One of us has to go in there and turn that damned purifier on and whoever does, isn't coming back out."

Lucy gaped at Jake when he so freely volunteered to do it. He claimed it was his parent's dream and he had to finish it.

Evelyn opened her mouth to protest, but Jake just shook his head. He hugged Evelyn tightly. A chaste kiss was shared between the two before Jake let her go. He looked at Lucy and she could see him fighting for control of his emotions.

"Take care of her for me." She nodded and watched as Jake entered the middle of the Rotunda. Evelyn wasn't crying but it was more then obvious that she could've started crying at the drop of a bottle cap.

A thick door closed behind Jake. She watched as he punched three numbers into the machine before him.

Lucy saw a flash of bright green and felt the radiation. It wasn't hitting them as bad as it had Jake but it was still affecting both her and Evelyn. Lucy's hand grasped at her throat, she was fighting like hell. She wouldn't die like this. She saw Evelyn crumple, and her own knees met the hard ground.

She gasped for breath and her body submitted to the extreme rise of radiation.

LWLWLW

A/N: I enjoyed writing this. Thoughts on Lucy and how I did with her background?

I'm debating on writing Broken Steel or not. And what I'm going to do with Jake.

Review? :D


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: This chapter was a bitch to write. Major kudos go to Cressida Isolde for a lot of the plot help, and being my unofficial beta. She's absolutely wonderful. Also, the rating goes up to 'M' in this chapter.

LWLWLWLW

The next few weeks are touch and go for Jake. Evelyn awakened a week before him by some miracle. Dog Meat was laying in a ball against her bed. She doesn't see Lucy. She faintly wondered if Lucy is even alive.

Her breathing is ragged and she can barely stand. Elder Lyons is called immediately and two Paladins stand menacingly with huge plasma rifles behind them. Did they not trust the frail outsider?

A man in red robes that had trailed in behind Elder Lyons felt for a pulse from Jake. He nodded slightly to Elder Lyons. Lyons looked at her and started talking. It took a few seconds to actually comprehend what he was saying to her.

"...Have been completely wiped out of the area. We commend you and your companions. We wish to make you and Jake, if he wakes up, honorary Brotherhood of Steel paladins."

Evelyn nodded, not fully understanding what he meant. She saw the bags under his eyes and even more wrinkles if possible. Something in the back of her mind screamed at her. She should know what's going on. It was so obvious. Evelyn squints.

"Where's.. Where's Sarah?" She asked. The words jumbled together and feel weird as they come out. Elder Lyons looked sadder and then regained his composure.

"I'm afraid my daughter died at the Purifier."

"I'm sorry." Evelyn muttered, eyes fully on Jake.

"She died for a good cause. She died for something that benefited the whole Wasteland."

"Yeah, she did. How long have I been out?" Evelyn asked quietly.

"Almost two weeks."

She remembered after her Dad died. It seemed like she hadn't stopped crying. But Elder Lyons was standing here, looking only a little sad, if that.

"What happened to my friend? Lucy?"

"After much reluctance on my part, she is helping train the Initiates with a gun."

"And... Jake. Is he going to be okay?" Her voice cracked slightly and the man in the red robes took over for Elder Lyons.

"He should be fine. He's made it past the first week which is amazing. None of you should've lived."

Evelyn sighed in relief and crossed the distance to Jake. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. Evelyn bit her lip and brushed the black hair out of his eyes. A gnawing pain chewed at her heart. What if he didn't wake up? What if the scribe was wrong?

Evelyn faintly heard the Elder and paladins leaving.

"If you _do_ wake up I'm going to beat the shit out of you." Evelyn muttered to Jake's sleeping form before laying back down on her own bed.

LWLWLW

"Hey, Evelyn. You awake yet?" A soft and low voice greeted Evelyn as she slowly regained her senses.

"No. Last time you woke me up it was all out hell."

Lucy shook her and Evelyn groaned into the pillow.

"I promise its good! Now _c'mon._"

"I don't wanna." Evelyn whined lowly and turned to face the wall.

"You'll like this surprise..." Lucy told her almost triumphantly. "You just have to get up to see for yourself."

"God, fine. Lucy, if this is some sort of sick joke you're going to be the first to go." Evelyn muttered, kicking the covers off of her legs.

"Its not Lucy anymore. Its Verity now." 'Verity' told her and grabbed a brush.

"Why Verity?" Evelyn asked, and sat down to let Verity brush her black hair out.

"Because, I'm leaving Lucy behind. I'm not some drug addict anymore. I'm Verity." There was a edge of proudness in Verity's voice that made Evelyn smile.

"I'm proud of you. Now where's my surprise?" Evelyn asked and Verity pulled a few strands of loose black hair.

"You can be patient."

Evelyn felt like a kid at Christmas. Verity was delaying the showcase of her surprise for the hell of it. Evelyn listened to the steady hum of power armor clanking and clunking as Brotherhood of Steel members walked through the corridors. Verity helped Evelyn out of the chair and in front of a cracked mirror.

"You did a good job with my hair." Evelyn murmured. Self consciously she touched the straight hair.

"It looks fine. Now c'mon." Verity covered Evelyn's eyes, much to her displeasure. Evelyn heard Dog Meat bark behind her. Evelyn leaned down to pet her puppy to realize he's not so much of a puppy anymore. She counted it on her fingers, and mouthed that its been three weeks now. Everything clicked. The only one that wasn't with them was Jake. She quickly wiped the realization of Verity's surprise off of her face and went along with the older woman.

Sunlight greeted the pair, and Evelyn reached to cover her eyes. Verity swatted at her hand. Evelyn shot her a annoyed look. Evelyn's eyes scan over the courtyard and she saw Jake. She broke into a sprint and headed straight for him. Her fist met his jaw, and he stumbled back.

"If you ever do that again, I will murder you!" Evelyn shouted, and Jake rubs at his jaw. He noticed her rubbing her sore knuckles.

"You still can't throw a decent punch." He remarked, eyebrow raised. A smirk was playing over his features and it made Evelyn even madder.

"You're a idiot. Just what were you thinking going in there?" She asked, looking straight at him.

"The betterment of the Wastes, you know all of that good savior shit my Dad was so intent on."

Evelyn knew as much as he tried to play it off, he was actually ready to die for his Parent's dream.

"They want us to go on another mission. You know, to remove the Enclave from the area." Jake told her, and stopped himself at her incredulous look. "We're not going. Besides you've been following me around for a month now right? Why don't we take Verity and go see your sister? We deserve a break."

"You're kidding me, what about the Brotherhood? They've had their thumbs up their asses for years..."

Jake shrugged and motioned for her to come help him back down to the bunks. He leaned against the young woman and pulled her close to him. Evelyn can smell the soap on him.

"They can take care of themselves with Liberty Prime. I have no reason to stay here anymore. Mom and Pops are dead, the purifier is active, so we'll move onto Vegas. You in, Eve?"

The use of her damned nickname, and she still wanted to follow him. Maybe Verity is so goddamn right about how she felt. Which wouldn't be a surprise.

Evelyn helped him onto the bed, and sat at his feet, cross legged.

"How would we even get there? Where would we find enough food? I hear the mid-west is pretty much deserted except for gangs, Brotherhood and Legion slavers."

"Did you hear that from Verity? I already asked her. It'll take us a couple of weeks to get there... but we will, I promise. We can leave as soon as I'm recovered."

Evelyn rested her head against the wall, and stared at the desk across from the bed.

"You're crazy, you know that?"

Jake struggled to sit up and put his head in her lap. Evelyn played with the pieces of long and shaggy black hair. The hair is actually clean. Evelyn had been taking a shower every chance she could. It was a luxury that she had sorely missed while in the Wastes.

"So, will you?"

"If you agree to a haircut. I don't like your hair this long."

Jake closed his blue eyes and chuckled.

"As long as you go with me."

Evelyn wanted to kiss him, but she didn't feel like testing her boundaries just yet. In the comfortable silence, Jake is lulled into sleep.

LWLWLW

Evelyn explained the plan to Verity who agreed wholeheartedly. It takes a couple of weeks but they leave the Citadel. Jake wormed them out of the mission. Evelyn saw it as a miracle. The last thing they needed was having to worry about watching their backs from heavily armored paladins with a fetish for energy weapons.

Their first stop was Megaton for the night. They were all back to fairly good health, and being back in the Wasteland instead of cooped up in the Citadel put all of them in a good mood.

Evelyn took note of how well Verity was doing. She looked much healthier now that she wasn't suffering through withdrawals.

The trip back to Megaton was relatively quiet. They came into view of the make-shift town and Evelyn let out a audible sigh. It was so good to be home.

Verity pointed something out, on the outer wall of Megaton, making Evelyn squint. It looked like something was strung up... Verity quickened her pace, and the other two hurried to keep up.

Evelyn's eyes watered when she made out what exactly was on the wall. Charon. He was strung up by his wrists. His clouded eyes were open and were staring blankly at them. Whoever had done it knew exactly what they were doing. This wasn't some random killing by Raiders..

"God fucking dammit." Jake muttered and took the note that was pinned to Charon's armor.

_We've been watching. Springvale, tomorrow. _

Jake crumpled the note and threw it on the ground.

"Help me get him down." His voice was cold, but Verity and Evelyn obliged anyways. Evelyn stepped back as Jake examined Charon's body. There were lashes on his back, whatever they used clearly went through the leather armor. Evelyn could see the blood droplets fall as Jake turned him back over. It had been recent. Jake closed Charon's eyelids.

Charon hadn't been her favorite person, by far. But she had to admit that he was a tough bastard when he was alive. Who could've done this to him?

"Will you get me a shovel, Eve? Please?"

Evelyn nodded and quickly discarded her pack near Verity. She knew she had a shovel somewhere in her house. Her house was cool and dark, just as she had left it. Evelyn turned on a dim lantern and searched for a shovel. She finally found it under the desk.

By the time she had come back, people were already starting to gather. Shit. Dog Meat growled beside Verity as she tried to disperse the people that had come to see the 'Lone Wanderer'.

The sun had set by the time Jake finished digging the grave. People still stood around. They whispered amongst themselves. Evelyn stood near Jake as he buried the ghoul.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Jake murmured. His posture showed Evelyn how tired he really was. She wrapped her arm around his waist and let Jake lean against her.

They got back to Jake's small house. Evelyn dropped her bag near the door. Wadsworth hovered near the stairs.

"Good evening, sir! How may I service you this fine evening?"

"Purify everything in this bag." Jake handed a bag full of waters to Wadsworth. "You going to be okay, Verity?" Jake asked, stopping before the first step upstairs. Dogmeat wagged his tail, clearly waiting for Verity to leave so he could follow.

"Yep. Been here before. Its been a hell of a long time, but yeah." Verity sets her stuff down near a shelf decorated with miscellaneous objects and small weapons Jake found interesting. There's a garden gnome in the corner, looking pristine.

Jake waited for Verity to leave before using Evelyn as a crutch. The jukebox at the top of the stairs played a low and soft Ink Spots song. All of her muscles cried in protest as she shouldered most of Jake's weight. She helped him out of the armored Vault suit and he changed into a loose pair of pants. Evelyn did the same, changing out of her trusty leather armor and into a loose shirt and shorts. She turned the lights off.

Jake lowered himself slowly onto the bed, muscles aching. Evelyn kissed his forehead. She knew he was to weary to mentally struggle over tomorrow. He pulled her down to him, and Evelyn instinctively wrapped both of her arms around him. His whole body rested against hers.

"Go to sleep. You need it." She told him, brushing her lips against his forehead once more. Jake shifted a little and his face hovered over her own. Much to her delight, Jake kissed her. Suddenly, all agony of aching muscles is gone. Her heart thumped wildly against her chest as she twisted her fingers in Jake's hair.

After one last kiss, Jake rested against her once more.

"We're both going to live." He promised, breathing evening out. Evelyn's heart fluttered and she agreed. They would. They had made it this far, and they would make it even further.

LWLWLW

A/N: I know I took forever, sorry. Jake finally got his wits about him and actually kissed her. Go Jake. :3


	11. Chapter 11

The night is filled with images of Charon's body. Jake pressed himself closer to Evelyn, trying to forget everything that he had seen. Charon had been his fault. The people had a vendetta against him, and for _what_? Him trying to better the Wasteland?

Who was next? Verity? Evelyn? He couldn't condemn Evelyn to the torture Charon had been through. He couldn't condemn her to death just because he was selfish. He wished that this was a different time, and he could be as selfish as he wanted to with her.

Jake contemplated leaving a note and dealing with these mother-fuckers himself. Verity would be able to watch over Evelyn until he got back, and even if he didn't, he would rely on Verity taking her out west.

He slowly and quietly got up from the bed. His muscles were cursing him with every step he took. Jake's blue eyes glanced back at Evelyn to make sure she was really sleeping. She was.

The steps gave him so much hell, he was almost crying like a bitch when he finally reached the bottom step. Jake dug through his bag, to his medical supplies. He grasped the familiar Jet inhaler and dropped it back into his bag. He found the Med-X, and the numbness it gave him felt _so_ good. He picked up the bag with ease.

He didn't struggle walking anymore. His muscles no longer ached. He heard footsteps behind him and he turned quickly. Cool azure eyes met teary emerald eyes.

"So you just expected to leave? _Again_?"

It was the first time seeing her really break down. It was something that shook him to his core. Evelyn wiped at her eyes. She wasn't supposed to cry. It wasn't right. She was supposed to be the strong one, the person who took care of him when no one else would.

"Eve... You don't understand..." He started.

"No, I don't. Please explain it to me. You're always leaving me hanging. You just disappear into the night without a fucking word." She snapped. Jake reached his hand out to her, but she shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself protectively.

"I'm trying to protect you. I couldn't protect my Dad. I couldn't protect Charon. Just let me fucking protect you."

"You think you're some bad-ass who can deal with everything on his own! You don't think you need anyone! But you do, and it scares the living hell out of you." She moved forward, closer to him. "I have you figured out, Jake. If you pull this 'I'm leaving to protect you' shit again, I'll be the one leaving and you'll never see me again." Evelyn promised.

His hand brushed stray pieces of black hair from her face. Her hand kept his against her cheek.

"Please stop crying, Eve."

Evelyn laughed and wiped at her eyes. Jake pulled her close to him and kissed her forehead.

"I'm tired. Can we please go back to bed?" Her breath was a whisper against his neck.

"Yeah." He agreed softly. This time he helped her up the stairs.

LWLWLWLW

He took care to kiss Evelyn's forehead. To remember the sharpness of her eyes. Her fingers dug into his arms, but he took it in stride. These small details were engrained in his memory. Just in case.

He whispered to her in Russian, and he could see the curiosity in her eyes. A few more words and he kissed her. The kiss pleased her and she hoped this wouldn't be their last.

"No heroics okay?" Evelyn requested.

"Can't promise that." Jake picked a slightly heavy piece of armor off of the worn pink armchair. He shrugged into it, with Evelyn's help. He exhaled at the added weight and waved off her concern.

Verity opened the front door and led Billy in.

"Billy's agreed to help us. Jericho is rounding up others now."

Evelyn could guess what Jake had been thinking. It was easy to.

"Stop it," She chided gently. "They're protecting Megaton, not doing you any personal favors."

He didn't say anything, even as the need to protect these people who had given him a home, readied to risk their lives.

"Stay here, Dog Meat. Okay? It's to dangerous for you buddy." Jake mumbled and patted the dog's head affectionately.

LWLWLWLWLW

They had assembled a small group of people. Simms, Jericho, Billy and a few other settlers. Evelyn divided the Stims up evenly. Jake was explaining what was going to happen. There was to be _no_ shooting unless he gave the signal.

There was little complaining, mostly coming from Jericho. The sun shone down on them, easily heating everyone up. There was tension in the air, making everything worse.

Jake led the group outside Megaton's gate. Verity stopped Evelyn.

"I'm not much for a mushy thank you so. Thanks for saving me. Now don't go dieing, okay? The Wasteland needs more people like you. And Jake needs you, kid."

A smile graced Evelyn's features. Verity looked, much much better. She wasn't as skinny anymore, a healthy weight, which pleased Evelyn.

"You're welcome." She murmured, and took her place next to Jake.

There was a group of people, leaning against the buildings of Springvale. How far Evelyn and himself had come. They were fairly well armed. The air was still. Evelyn held her breath when the group noticed them.

"So whose idea was it to kill my friend?" Jake's voice called out.

"Your _friend_ deserved to die. He had to make a statement." The man talking was older, but the glint in his eye screamed crazy. He was clean, almost pristine. Him being from a vault was painfully obvious.

"Why is that?" Jake asked, making sure not to make any sudden movements. There was uneasy shifting from a couple of people on the other side. They were bloodthirsty and hoping for a fight. The old man gave them the means.

"Because we've come to enlighten the masses of people that the Wasteland is changing, and there is much need to change with it. We are the prophets of the new Wasteland."

There was complete silence.

"Are you fuckin' kiddin' me? Is this what the pussies were afraid of? A bunch of crazy assholes that crawled out of a vault?"

Evelyn let out a sigh. Of course. Jericho had to step forward with as much grace as a Yao Guai. But these people _were_ something to be afraid of. They obviously had a few screws loose, with a set objective.

"And your self appointed leader is Jacob. We know him well. Come, Jake. You could help the cause." The old man grinned, seemingly ignoring Jericho. "The people of the Wasteland need structure, they need law and order."

Jake resisted the urge to sigh, but instead smiled.

"You are from a vault, right? As you know, I am too. I chased my father who had escaped the vault. He had a dream for the Wasteland too," Jake's voice was calm and alluring. Evelyn listened intently to the story, not quite sure where Jake would take this.

"He wanted the people of the Wasteland to have clean and fresh water. He wanted generations to come to have fresh water. My father died for his dream. Your dream as noble as it sounds in your head isn't worth dieing over."

The man's gray eyes narrowed. "Jacob, what about this don't you understand? They need law..."

"And order. We get it. But you obviously have not lived in the Wasteland to get how it works. So I'm going to give you a small tour. People live by their own morals and do what they think is right. Justice is served by the ones affected." Verity's voice was loud and clear.

"And we have every right to serve you justice for what happened to Charon. We have _every fucking right_ to string you up on the walls of Megaton to show people what happens when you mess with one of us." Jake's tone was calm and bored, and the expression on his face suggested just that.

A second person, a strikingly beautiful woman stepped forward and gave a sly grin. "So why don't you? Serve up a cold dish of _justice_." Her tone was mocking.

"Sarah, calm down." The old man snapped. Jake stepped forward and the other side's attention snapped to him.

"So, are you all going to die for his crimes? Or will you leave and never look back? This is your chance. You don't have to die for him." No one moved a inch, just tensed and their hands hovered over weapons of choice. Two young women in the back sprinted away, as fast as they could. Jake watched them go.

"We're gonna do this the hard way? Alright." In a instant, gunfire filled the air. There was a sickening impact of a bullet hitting flesh. He wasn't hit though. Jake couldn't focus enough on much more then ending the man before him; getting justice for Charon. Even as a ghoul, he had more living to do. He had to tell the stories of pre-war, and now no one would get to hear them.

The stock of the M-16 crashed onto the old man's head. He wasn't dead. Not quite yet. He would suffer. Jake would make sure of it. There were the calls of combat, all around him. But for now he was in his own personal bubble. His foot collided with the leader's chest. There was a crunch that Jake reveled in.

"Jake, stop. He's dead."

It took a few seconds of Evelyn's nails digging into his hands for him to fully grasp the world around him. The man beneath them was disfigured. Jake's breathing was heavy. He surveyed around him. The small militia was crowded around a body on the ground. It was Billy. His breathing was shallow, and blood stained his shirt.

He dropped to his knees and had his medical pack out before anyone else could respond. Jake removed the armor carefully, wincing when he saw the bullet wound. It wasn't deep enough to do permanent damage but Billy was losing more blood than he liked. He watched as Evelyn gingerly touched his cheek.

"You'll live. Don't worry." She whispered. Jake cleaned his hands, and stuck Billy's side with the needle of the Med-X. A couple of doses, and Jake started working as quick as he could.

"Hey, Simms? Take care of her, okay?" Billy coughed out. "Tell her I love her."

Jake's pace was steady, even as Billy closed his eyes. Evelyn panicked. His breathing had stopped. He stopped working on Billy, and he heard a choked sob behind him.

A few hours later, they had a small burial for Billy. Evelyn dug her nails into Jake's hand when Maggie started crying. He noticed the tears, and her black hair sticking to her wet face. Simms spoke of Billy fondly. His first day in Megaton with a crying Maggie latched onto him.

After the small funeral, Jake led Evelyn back to the house. They wearily helped each other remove clothes and slipped into bed. Evelyn let Jake hold onto her as she sniffled and cried. Another piece of her childhood, gone.

LWLWLWLWLW.

A/N: Oh my God. It has been _so _long. No I haven't forgotten about this story, it was just on major hiatus. I just could not figure out how to write this chapter.

For those of you that are still here, I love you. 3

Also, I've created a facebook page where I spend most of my time.

It's the facebook url/ImpaSageOfShadow.

I promise the next chapter won't take nearly as long.


	12. One For My Baby

A/N: So. Um. I'm just gonna hide behind Alistair and pretend this chapter isn't late, okay? ._. I've been playing a lot of Dragon Age and so all I've been writing lately is Dragon Age ff.

LWLWLWLW

Nothing felt easy anymore. There was a weight on her shoulders that hadn't been there before. Evelyn was careful to move from the bed without waking Jake. She pulled on a pair of pants and a jacket. She strapped her AK74U to her back and headed out.

There was barely anyone out, and for this small piece of luck she was grateful. She slipped out of the Megaton gate and past Deputy Weld with relative ease. They had buried Billy near Charon. Beyond the outer walls of Megaton was turning into a regular graveyard.

Evelyn sat on Billy's grave. She played with the sand for a minute before starting to talk.

"You helped me, y'know? When Dad died and Carla wasn't there. Even with Maggie being so small, you still made sure to come around every once and a while and make sure I was still eating and at the very least, functioning." Evelyn bit the inside of her lip, trying to hold back the tears. "You tried to teach me how to shoot when you know full well I couldn't. And a magnum at that. Honestly, Billy." She let out a small laugh.

"I'll make sure Maggie grows up okay. I'm going to go now, okay? I love you, Billy. I hope you're happy." Evelyn whispered. She touched his grave once more before heading back inside Megaton.

LWLWLWLW

Jake was already up when she finally awakened. She smelled Brahmin meat cooking and her mouth watered. Little signs of affection scattered through the morning. A kiss here, a touch of the hand there. Jake usually wasn't the one to do those types of things. They ate breakfast in silence. It was an actual meal. Not just a box of Sugar Bombs on a cold morning.

"Hey, Jake? What's up with you this morning?" She asked, trying to sound casual. She looked down the sights of one of her side-arms and tweaked with the sights.

"Hmm?" He asked, blue eyes barely lifting from the dusty medical book in his hands.

"It's just... You're being affectionate. You aren't one for showing affection. Not this much anyways."

"I figure you'd need it." The unspoken words were clear. He could see the differences in her. She shrugged it off. She was, but what did it matter? Jake still needed her. Or, at least she hoped he did. There was so much left for them to do, to explore.

"Has Verity decided whether she wants to come with us or not?"

"She will. She wants and needs a new start."

It was quiet for a few moments.

"There's so much we have to do." She started, and Jake shook his head.

"You're going to have to pace yourself. Do you know how much radiation you took? This trip is not going to easy and I don't want us worn down before we even start."

She bit back a remark about him treating her like a helpless child. She was so angry. Couldn't he see that? Why wasn't he? The Enclave took his Father.

"Look, I just don't... I don't think we need to be here right now. I think we should leave as soon as possible."

He stood, looking ages older. He kissed her forehead softly. He muttered a word in Russian, lips quirking upwards.

"What does that mean?" She asked, green eyes filled with curiosity.

"Impatient."

Evelyn scoffed and pushed him away. She smiled slightly for a moment before schooling her face into a mask of calm indifference.

"Where'd you learn that little trick? You usually wear your emotions on your sleeve." Dishes clattered in the sink.

"I expect those to be cleaned. And I pick up a thing or two from you."

LWLWLWLW

It was a long three months, going through the mid-west as Jake had called it. Legion slavers, ghouls and Brotherhood of Steels freaks who cared nothing of the Brotherhood to the East, which didn't help them much. And who could possibly forget the raiders? They learned to sleep lightly and tread even lighter.

As soon as they touched base in a small town near Novac which Carla had talked about before, Verity left. A passing courier had peaked her interest. There was a brief goodbye, because that's all Evelyn and Verity could manage.

Evelyn started crying almost instantly at the sight of Carla. Carla was beautiful, her long blonde hair was in a ponytail. The golden rays of sun caught her eyes, making them look a clear blue. But there was something off about her. She couldn't tell what though. She was unusually pale, as if this was the first time she had seen sunlight in a while. Carla looked thin despite the medium sized bump protruding from her stomach.

Evelyn shook those feelings off for the moment and wrapped Carla in a warm embrace.

"Hey sis." Evelyn greeted. Carla pulled both her and Jake inside. She sat them down on a couch, while she lowered herself in a armchair.

"So, whose this?" Carla asked, a knowing smile on her face. She hadn't missed the small touches that they thought they were getting away with.

"This is Jake. He's uh." Evelyn stopped for a moment. What was he? Her _boyfriend_? No. He wasn't quite that.

"Your boyfriend?" Carla asked, grin growing wider.

"_No_." Evelyn stated. "It's not something we've exactly discussed."

Jake looked slightly uncomfortable. _Amazing_. He could stare down super-mutants, heavily armored tech freaks and this is what got to him? Her sister? Her obviously harmless, pregnant sister?

"Oh go on. I'm sure you can find some poor soul down on their luck to help." Jake was quick to get up. "And don't you even _think_ about bringing home a stray." Her voice sent the message to him. Her word was final and disobeying her word would've ended up badly.

Who she was presumed was Boone stepped out of the bathroom. He was a big man, mostly built out of muscle. He wore sunglasses and a dirty NCR beret.

"This is Craig, Craig this is my charming little sister Evelyn."

Evelyn scoffed at this notion. Boone reached out and they shook hands. He had a firm handshake.

"And that's Jake, Evelyn's boyfriend."

Evelyn shot Carla a look, which she smugly ignored. He and Boone left together, and she noticed Jake sizing Boone up. There was no doubt a smart-ass comment awaiting in the depths of his mind.

"Stray? So he's a animal person?"

"No. He finds stray humans that just absolutely need help and decides that he will help them however he can. Even if it means bringing them home."

Carla gave her a bit of a strange look at this, and Evelyn waved her off.

"So what's the Strip like?" Evelyn asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

"It's amazing. There's glimmering lights, bright enough to where you can't even see the stars. At the Tops there's entertainment and the most charming men, the Chairmen. You should go there first. And take me with you. I'm goddamn sick of being cooped up in this small town." Carla's smooth and cheerful voice turned angry.

"Why are you cooped up? Don't you like it here?" Evelyn asked, suddenly very concerned about Carla's well being. So this is what had been eating away at her sister. What had this NCR soldier been doing to her?

"It's just so safe and so _boring_. Craig was right to want to live here... It's just... I'm not cut out for it. I love Craig so much. I just can't stand being here. Everyone whispers behind your back and smile to your face. I don't go out much anymore." She started crying, and Evelyn was hugging her in a instant.

"It's okay. Have you told Craig?"

"_No_. He's trying so hard and, I couldn't bear to make him feel bad over this."

"Carls... Evelyn murmured, rubbing circles over her back.

"No, Eve. I'm fine. I promise. I'm just going a little stir crazy, is all."

"We'll take you to the Strip. We were planning on going anyways."

Carla smiles sincerely, and even if the smile is sincere it makes her look so much older.

"No. You go with Jake, and have a good time. I'll be here when you get back." Evelyn nods and rested her head on Carla's lap. A tender hand stroked her hair.

Singing filled the room. Soft songs that their Mother would sing. Evelyn was tugged into a dreamless sleep.

LWLWLWLW

She woke up, nestled against Jake. Her eyes strained as she tried to figure out where they were. Dog Meat was laying at the end of the bed, faithfully. There looked to be no junkies or anyone else in the room. Good, he had listened.

She peeled herself away from Jake who muttered something she couldn't quite understand. She dressed easily in her leather armor, and strapping a pistol to her hip. The door opened quietly and she stepped out of the room. A rush of cool air hit her, making her shiver.

She's almost knocked to the ground, and her eyes lock on a big figure. Craig. It's hard to not notice him. Evelyn reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

"What's going on?"

"They took her, the damned Legion bastards took her."

"The Legion took Carla? What? Why?"

"I don't know, but I intend to kill every last one of them."

It's a split second decision, but Evelyn makes it.

"I'm going with you."

"No, you're not. You're going to stay here and safe. I won't have her sister on my conscience either."

"Fuck that! I'm coming! Goddammit, Craig. She's _my_ sister."

He doesn't look happy. She could fucking care less.

"Hurry up."

And she does. She grabbed her lightweight pack and shoved her medical supplies in it, along with ammo. Evelyn took the sniper rifle from the corner, along with her trusty AK74U. She softly kissed Jake's head and then she's off with Craig.

It's a days travel before they arrive where Craig has a place mapped out. It's a small camp on a ledge. There's a perfect view of the Legion settlement below.

"They're selling slaves." He told her quietly. She squinted, but saw nothing. She laid on the ground and put her eye to the scope of the rifle.

She saw Carla... Beautiful and pregnant Carla in slave rags. Her blue eyes were vacant.

"We can't..." Her voice sounded so empty. The words were terribly hard to say.

"We can't just leave her either."

She looked to Craig, tears already welling in her eyes.

"We have to kill her, we can't leave her to be a slave for the rest of her days."

Craig said nothing.

"It'd be a mercy killing."

Evelyn nodded and wiped her eyes.

"One for my baby." He whispered, positioning himself to take the shot. Evelyn did her best to memorize every detail of Carla.

The sound of the sniper rifle going off was worse than any other gunshot that she'd ever heard. Evelyn brought her knees to her chest and fully cried.

LWLWLWLW

I'm not happy with this chapter but. Yeah. So another character dies, but I didn't really want to keep Carla alive either. That fucks with my head-canon.

And if you've played Dragon Age at all, I'm going to throw in a small piece of something I've been writing off and on for the past few weeks.

LWLWLW

Zevran and Nonna are in awe. They've stumbled across a secluded and very private garden. It's a lush green, with streaks of gold catching the pond's blue water just right, and glinting off of it. Small ducks swim effortlessly in the pond, quacking at each other. Flowers of every color are scattered across the garden. Ivy climbs up the walls, and Nonna sees three different colors of roses.

Nonna then notices a lounging Rome and Alistair. She's sitting against a tree trunk with Alistair's head in her lap. He had his eyes closed, and looked completely relaxed. Nonna also noticed Maric's blade next to them. She's stroking Alistair's hair, and watching him sleep, something resembling fondness passes over her face.

"Isn't it beautiful? It was a wedding gift from Alistair." Rome murmurs, careful not to wake her sleeping King. She looks up, brushing black hair out of her eyes. And then certain flowers catch Nonna's eyes. Elfroot, Deathroot, and countless other plants that Rome has used on their journeys. It is a rogue's paradise. Now she sees the garden for what it really is, her own private garden for ingredients.

To the untrained eye, to someone who doesn't know Rome or Alistair the way she does, it would seem like a simple gift. A gift from a husband filled to the brim with love and passion for his wife. But she knows, Alistair wouldn't have gotten her anything impractical. Rome was the most practical person in the world. Nonna wonders slightly why the Queen needs the variety of flowers.

Is it protection from some unknown force? Or is it for a sense of security, a sense of security that differs from the strong wall that is Alistair?

Zevran has made all of the same assumptions, and he offers Rome a good-natured grin.

"I hope I will be allowed back, my fair Majesty." He speaks with a double meaning. A look pass between the ex-assassin and the woman under his protection. She catches on quickly, studying Zevran. Nonna notices the small distrust in her eyes. There have been five attempts now. And she puts it all together.

"Of course. I just hope you don't pick all of the flowers. Some of these are very rare, from the far reaches of Antiva and Orlais."

This garden is protection. Protection for Alistair, in case he is poisoned. She doesn't trust the staff completely, or the nurses and so she does the mixing of the potions herself.

"All the better, my dear. Nonna, I believe we should leave the good Queen to her thoughts. Call upon us if anything is needed."

Nonna bows, and Zevran does the same. She feels Rome's eyes staring holes into her back as they leave.


End file.
